88
What a Freelance Spy Does
I was ready to kill the waiter the moment he forgot his place, but…
“Sir, your side dishes are here!”
This bastard, his flattery is something else. I could almost hear the sound of bells ringing.
“Sir, would you like more drinks? Whiskey, beer, wine, vodka? What would you prefer? Just say the word!”
This Yus or whatever his name is, he’s really something else.
I’ve seen guys like this before. The kind who would crawl between your legs without a moment’s hesitation if told to. And they don’t particularly resent the person who makes such demands. But when it comes time to kill that person, they do it without batting an eye. Psychos.
I looked at Lee with pity. Hey, you’re a guy who’s quick-witted and dislikes danger, so how did you end up with an S-class psycho? It’s not like these psychos are just lying around on the street like pebbles. Catching my gaze, Lee downed his drink in one go with an irritated expression. Even though there was ice in it, it was still strong alcohol, so he must be quite agitated. The jingling waiter bastard immediately refilled Lee’s glass.
“Tell me your story.”
Lee’s voice was slightly hoarse, as if drunk. Is this guy really okay? As I stared at his face, Lee waved his hand as if to say don’t worry about it. Meanwhile, I saw the jingling guy switch Lee’s glass with ice water.
I can see that this psycho likes Lee.
But fat chance. The characteristic of these psychos is that they can say crazy things like “I like you, but I can’t help it. You’ll have to die” without any hesitation. It’s impossible to gauge what’s going on in their heads. They operate on a completely different mechanism from normal people.
It’s probably not good to pretend to know more. Lee’s been in this business for a few years, so there’s no way he doesn’t know the guy he’s meeting is a psycho. Despite that, he invited him to his house… Either it’s not easy to end the relationship, or he has feelings too.
I obediently started telling my story.
I left out the parts that the psycho shouldn’t know. Like how Sebastian is trying to bring someone down. I summarized it to say that Sebastian seemed to have proceeded with the engagement ceremony regardless of what might happen to his life. Lee’s face frowned at this.
“He wants to get engaged to you that badly?”
“Who knows.”
Lee seemed to think that Sebastian wouldn’t risk his life just for an engagement. He said it was strange that Sebastian was making such a fuss about getting engaged at a time like this when our relationship was going so well.
“Isn’t there some other reason?”
“How would I know?”
My answer of not knowing was easily accepted.
“I see… But I understand why you’re angry. You like Riegel, so you might be angry that he’s acting recklessly. But what I don’t understand is, why do you look hurt?”
Lee asked.
Why am I hurt?
With that one question, I realized my emotions. Yes, I’m not angry at Sebastian. Shit, there are plenty of people who use me and stab me in the back, so I wouldn’t get angry over something like this. I’m hurt. Sebastian…
“Sebastian…”
Of course, I do have a family. But my family was too big of a unit. We couldn’t be a family that could focus on each other. I couldn’t do that for my siblings, and I fully understood that my siblings couldn’t do that for me either. There were too many siblings. And honestly, we were always too overwhelmed just taking care of our own futures. Father was a really good father, but he was the director of an orphanage and a clergyman. He couldn’t focus on just one of his adopted sons.
Sebastian was the first person I had who was truly mine. It was impossible to explain with words like family or lover. He was my friend, family, lover, protector, and someone to protect. He was perfect, something I never dared to dream of, and he was mine.
I worry every day that he might die, get hurt, or something might go wrong, but he’s willing to throw away his life like it’s nothing to catch those damn Canaris bastards. Then what about me? I only have you.
Tears were about to come, so I pressed my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Ah, shit, I think I drank too much.”
Lee was silent for a moment at my words. Then he eventually said, “Yeah. It’s snowing, hey.” changing the subject. That was a relief.
Ah, why does the effect of alcohol hit you the moment you say “I drank too much”? I was fine just a moment ago, but maybe because I almost cried, I suddenly felt drunk and dizzy. I can’t get my head straight. Seeing me shaking my head, Lee clicked his tongue.
“Waiter, we need to move the guest to the sofa.”
At Lee’s words, the jingling guy responded energetically with “Yes, boss!” and put one of my arms over his shoulder. Then he dragged me to the living room sofa. The moment he laid me down on the sofa, I felt a chilling sensation at my side. Before my head could move, I grabbed his wrist. He was already holding a knife, trying to stab my side.
“Not a waiter, but an assassin disguised as a waiter? You started this?”
I’m in a foul mood today and I never liked this bastard anyway. And he started it.
I started by driving my fist accurately into his face. Oh, the feeling of his nose bone crumbling is nice.
Lee, who was sitting at the dining table, came running at the sound of the punch. He was about to stop me but turned his attention to the sound of something dropping. Seeing the knife that had fallen from the jingling guy’s, no, the assassin’s hand, Lee seemed to understand the situation immediately.
“You’re asking for it, aren’t you?”
While Lee was clicking his tongue, I kneed the assassin in the solar plexus. Just a moment ago, I felt like the world was spinning because of the alcohol, but that must have been an illusion. This feeling of clarity after moving a bit feels good. It’s important to sober up.
I grabbed the assassin’s hair and slammed his head against the coffee table, causing Lee to shout, “That’s expensive!” Lee, who loves drinking, had spent a lot of money on the living room, the sofa, the coffee table, the kitchen, the dining table, and the dining chairs. It was a setting for drinking enjoyably with people.
Given how many bottles of Lee’s alcohol I’ve emptied today, I couldn’t ignore his request, so I was about to slam the assassin against the wall when Lee shouted again.
“Blood will splatter!”
Ah, right. Your house has expensive wallpaper too. Lee’s father was a rich landowner in the countryside, and when this country became democratic, he hit the jackpot with that land. As a result, he’s now a big shot in real estate. Naturally, the eyes of Lee, his youngest son, are set at the top of the sky.
Everything is expensive, he says. Wait a minute. Is this bastard actually trying to help his partner?
The moment I gave him a suspicious look, Lee opened the balcony door. As the cold early spring wind rushed into the living room, Lee said,
“Welcome, valued customer.”
Alright, your friendship is acknowledged.
As I dragged the assassin towards the balcony, he regained some consciousness and shouted.
“Ah, wait, just a moment! I, I didn’t really, mean to, stab! Really!”
This bastard?
Wham, I drove my fist into his face again. This time I hit his mouth, and he coughed and spat out teeth. Lee, who had gotten up from the dining table, frowned and said, “Ow, that’s cruel.” But he didn’t seem particularly inclined to stop me.
You didn’t really mean to stab?
Both Lee and I have been in this business too long to fall for such nonsense.
“Try speaking informally one more time, you son of a bitch. I’ll throw you off.”
Lee’s apartment is on the 10th floor.
Knowing I was serious, the guy screamed, “It’s really not like that!” As I was about to cross the balcony threshold, he grabbed onto the door frame and resisted.
“Please! No, it’s just because you’re Armin Schnieke, ah, you’re famous! I was curious about how great you are! So, just, really, that’s why! I just wanted to provoke you a little…”
Why do these young bastards nowadays say such shallow things, it’s irritating.
I stepped hard on the guy’s leg. When I hit the right spot, he screamed. I felt something crunch under my foot. I wanted to break it cleanly, but maybe because I’d been drinking, it didn’t seem to break as well as I intended. Well, can’t be helped. It’s not like he’s someone I need to worry about anyway. After breaking one of his legs, I lifted the arm of the guy who was crying with a terrible sound.
There’s one thing people misunderstand. That psychos don’t feel pain, or that psychos show frenzied attitudes towards these kinds of actions. No, that’s not possible. A beating hurts everyone. Especially these psychos, they can’t endure their own pain. It’s characteristic of these psychos that they don’t mind hurting others at all, but can’t stand even the slightest bit of their own pain.
“If you talk nonsense, it’s your arm next, okay?”
“Really, really!”
“Who hired you?”
At first, I was unsure. When he mentioned something about a wandering ghost earlier, I thought he was just a messenger. But coming to this house and seeing his attitude, I began to suspect. He had been watching me the whole time, jingling around. As if waiting for an opportunity. And when he first came out of Lee’s room and saw me, he was surprised at the unexpected encounter, and secondly, he was pleased. He quickly hid his true feelings by pretending to be annoyed.
At my question, Yus’s expression changed from writhing in pain to sweating and glaring at me. He spat on the floor with a “ptui”. It was saliva mixed with a lot of blood.
“Shit, you seem oblivious but have a strangely good sense. You’re tricky.”
“…”
“It hurts like hell, so painkillers first. Then contact Riegel and tell him to prepare 500 million Lid.”
This bastard? I raised an eyebrow, but this time Yus didn’t even blink.
“500 million Lid. That’s the price for me betraying Canaris.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
