My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

"The humans are strange — always wanting to know everything. He and you both seemed like you were in a hurry to live."

I narrowed my eyes at Crow, who said that with a faint smile.

I don't think I'm in any hurry to live.

"I know. You don't intend that, right? But that's how it looked to me. He kept absorbing knowledge he didn't need just to be alive, and in the end he came to be called a 'sage'. Even though he should have been seeing the same things I saw, he always looked off into the distance. Mind you, it seems he died not long ago, maybe because he was living too fast. I didn't think he wouldn't even be able to see his sister's death, let alone a friend's."

From the way he spoke, Crow hadn't been present at that man's death.

It felt odd to hear Crow call him a friend.

Maybe it's prejudice, but I thought someone who hated being in groups would have no one he could call a friend.

So he did have a friend.

While preparing my own tea, I asked a question that had been nagging me.

If Crow said he resembled me, I wanted to know what kind of person he meant.

"What's that man's name?"

Crow thought for a moment before answering.

How do you forget a friend's name like that?

"If I recall... Saran Misurei, was it? I haven't met him in a while, so I completely forgot."

The teacup slipped from his hand and rolled under the table.

The sound wasn't loud, but Amelia, who had been sleeping in my arms, woke up.

My head was in such a whirl that I couldn't focus on anything else.

"What did you say?"

"Saran Misurei. Blond, annoyingly handsome, usually acting like an old man but actually a sharp light magician. ...Hey, do you know him?"

When I heard a familiar name and asked if I misheard, he repeated the same name.

All the traits he listed matched perfectly with the Saran commander I knew.

"Wait. Why do you know Saran? Where did you meet him?"

Crow looked at me with a puzzled expression, coming to the conclusion that of course they'd be similar if they were acquaintances.

Well, anyone who'd been summoned into this world recently would find it suspicious if someone recognized their acquaintances.

"...Saran Misurei is famous, even by the demon king, as a 'sage' who doesn't stay in one place. So when Akira said Saran Misurei was like a mentor to him, I thought it was strange. I couldn't picture him taking disciples. Maybe it's just someone with the same name, and Akira acted weird when I mentioned it, so I let it go. But to think you know Crow..."

Amelia had been listening and said that before turning to Crow.

Crow silently shrugged.

"...The features you described for Commander Saran match exactly with the Saran commander I know. There aren't many light magicians, right? So it's the same person."

But is it really that famous that he doesn't settle in one place?

"Let's sort this out a bit."

Crow handed me freshly brewed black tea as if to calm me down.

I took a small sip.

I wasn't fond of black tea, but maybe it helped me relax a little; despite the confusion in my head, I got ready to explain.

"First, Saran doesn't settle in one place, but he had been missing for decades. You said 'Commander' Saran earlier, right?"

I nodded.

"Ah. He was the knight commander of the Kingdom of Reytis."

"Then he's Zeal-boy's superior. Well, he might not have kept in touch with Zeal-boy for a long time, so that might explain it. Still, he was a knight...? Doesn't suit him."

Crow rested his elbow on the table and looked me over.

"What do you know about him?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?"

I took another small sip of tea.

I really couldn't get used to the taste.

"You might not have noticed, but every time you bring up Saran's name I feel killing intent from you. Did something happen with his death?"

This man was sharp as ever.

Or maybe I'm just obvious.

"Something happened, or rather... he died because of me."

It felt like time had passed since I started acting with Crow, but this was the first time I talked about what happened after being summoned.

Amelia, who had heard it once at the Cantinen Labyrinth, was listening relaxed between my legs.