My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

"I was adopted, and by the time I became royal, Lord Gram had already been removed as prime minister, so I don't know all the details…"

Ria said that and glanced at my face.

I still nodded.

"That's fine. Tell me how Gram appeared to you and what impression he left."

I stared into her eyes, and as if defeated, Ria sighed in resignation.

Amelia and I sank into our chairs and listened.

"Lord Gram was born as the only son of the current King Igusam Lagoon's older sister. The current king's family had long been without children, so when Gram was born they were overjoyed."

Ah — I could already see where the story was going.

I picked up a cookie-like sweet from the table.

"Raised loved by the current king and the other royals, Lord Gram... grew up with that arrogance. He began to imagine the whole world belonged to him."

Being born into the royal family meant, for better or worse, that whatever he wanted could be granted.

Nice — born a winner.

You can't choose where you're born, but the gap is ridiculous.

"After begging the current king for the prime minister post, he did whatever he pleased. He kept women around him, sold children, brought men under his sway. Anyone who opposed him was killed by mercenaries he hired. …He really didn't consider anyone he didn't like to be human."

And when that came to light he was removed as prime minister and became a guild master.

Ria lowered her eyes quietly, as if some memory bothered her.

"Even after being appointed guild master he acted without restraint, and the king could no longer stop him."

I tilted my head.

Even the king's nephew could wield that much power?

"Do Beastmen give nephews that much authority? Even after banishing him?"

Amelia voiced what I wanted to say.

Yes, that's exactly it.

"No. Gram's only official power is being guild master. The problem is his forces."

"The mercenaries he hired?"

Ria nodded at my words.

She swallowed some tea and continued.

"Yes. Those mercenaries… embarrassingly, even the kingdom's strongest units can't stand against them. They've been given illegal drugs behind the scenes, which drastically raise their physical abilities. …They're no longer human. They don't speak, and they probably can't live a normal life."

Watching Ria bite her lip, I could infer a lot.

Apparently she'd seen those mercenaries herself.

"What were they like?"

Amelia, with her mouth full of sweets, asked. She really savors her food; I wonder if she's actually tasting it. Luxury treats like that aren't something you get often.

"Hmm… from my perspective, it seemed like their bodies were being forced to move. Probably because of drugs. They become killing puppets, bodies that only follow orders. It's not fully understood, but there seems to be a drug that makes that possible."

Her tone suggested it wasn't just ordinary narcotics.

"A drug linked to the underworld… If so, whoever makes it must be a professional — an apothecary or alchemist. Ordinary people couldn't make such a thing."

"Yes. The country is investigating, but they still haven't found the source."

Occupations here change our common sense. Since coming to this world we've felt that again and again.

Neither my classmates nor I had killing power in Japan. The difference between Japan and here is whether you have an occupation and whether stats are visible.

That's a huge difference.

If your job is fixed at birth, you have no future anxiety. And visible stats mean you can see your strengths and weaknesses.

It's riskier than Japan — death shadows everything — but it's easier to live in some ways.

Yet, like Japan, power is always abused by some people.

If someone can make a drug that turns humans into killing machines, they could surely make medicine to heal the sick.

"It's no wonder the kingdom can't find it. It's the underworld."

"Yes. King Igusam shares that view. I suspect this is related to why Lord Akira was called here."

I looked up at the Royal Castle coming into view and sighed.

Now then — whether being summoned by King Igusam of the Beastmen will turn out well or ill remains to be seen.