CLEAVER OF SIN

Chapter 921: Coffee

The next morning swiftly arrived as Asher had eaten his fill the previous night and slept like a baby without a shred of worry. Surprisingly, and much to Asher’s disappointment, no other assassin came looking for him during his sleep, as though they had learned their lesson after seeing one make a move and never return or leave Asher’s room alive.

Asher’s eyes slowly opened as the sunlight from the huge glass window reached his face, forcing him awake. He yawned as he sat up, still dazed for a moment. His eyes shifted towards the digital clock sitting on the nightstand. It was already afternoon, as it was almost 4 p.m.

Asher simply dropped back onto his bed for a moment as he yawned again.

’I should bathe and begin training my swordsmanship,’ he thought to himself, already planning to start the day with training.

He rose, brushed his teeth, made a coffee using the coffee machine, then sipped it as he stared down at the world through the glass window, enjoying the view as he observed the various tall high-rise buildings and towering skyscrapers stretching into the distance.

’The real estate business here would be booming like crazy,’ Asher thought as he drank his coffee.

Although Asher thought that, he knew literally nothing about real estate. To Asher, real estate simply meant buying land, building a house, then either selling it or renting it out to tenants. Anything beyond that, he knew absolutely nothing about. Having a perfect memory didn’t mean he went around reading about every single thing in life, nor did it suddenly grant him knowledge of subjects he had never taken an interest in.

His eyes shifted towards the coffee cup in his hand in thought.

’How do people even like coffee? This stuff is bitter. They all must be pretending to like this,’ he mused to himself, yet he sipped it anyway as he continued staring at the world below.

’Now that that’s done, let’s go prepare for training,’ Asher thought to himself and turned away from the window. He placed the coffee cup on a nearby table as he walked towards the shower. After taking a shower, Asher stood wearing only his trousers, about to push a few things aside as he had done yesterday. Before he could, however, the door behind him chimed once again, the sound echoing throughout the room.

He smiled, wondering if it was another assassin, but the moment he had that thought, he heard a bunch of familiar voices at the door while also sensing their presences. He sighed in disappointment, a shirt appearing in his hand before he swiftly slipped it on.

Although he had been about to train, Asher simply decided to cancel it since his friends were already here. Of course, he could simply ignore them if he really wanted to, but he had already planned to hang out with them throughout tomorrow. Since they were already here, he might as well spend time with them now, then dedicate the entirety of tomorrow to training and stop only a few hours before the gala event.

Opening the door, Finch, William, Ryaen, and Vaelric stepped inside with calm, unhurried strides without even turning to look at him as the discussion between them continued flowing naturally.

Asher closed the door, returned to the room, and simply sat on the bed.

Ryaen turned towards him and asked, "Are you just waking up?" Her tone was almost inquisitive, as though she had already observed something.

Asher nodded as he spoke. "About half an hour ago. I was about to train when you guys knocked," he replied.

Hearing that he had been about to train when they arrived, William couldn’t help but speak.

"I guess we should leave since you’re busy," he said calmly as he moved to rise from the couch he was sitting on, the others instinctively mirroring his movement, as nobody liked causing any sort of disturbance whenever someone was training.

"No need," Asher began. "It’s just a few insights I gained while fighting Arianna, which I’m practically done comprehending. But don’t bother coming to find me until a few hours before the gala, as I’ll be training until then," he stated, making no attempt to hide the fact that he intended to spend the rest of his time training.

Everyone simply nodded, not exactly surprised that Asher was already talking about training. Although they had never actually seen him train, they knew his work ethic would undoubtedly be insane. They also understood that insights gained from battles had to be comprehended while they were still fresh in one’s mind, or they might mysteriously vanish, as though the world itself reclaimed them from those who failed to appreciate or cultivate them in time.

"Sometimes, I even wonder how you guys always seem to know the exact moment I’ve woken up. After all, you’ve never knocked while I was asleep," Asher spoke, as he was genuinely too curious about it.

"I guess it’s just coincidence," Vaelric replied with a shrug, not understanding what Asher was getting at.

Yesterday, on the bus ride back to the Gentle Hotel from the Coliseum after the Inter-Empire Tournament ended, Asher had told Prince Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor to start calling him by his name instead of referring to him as the Tenth Sun.

The others also shrugged just like Vaelric, as they couldn’t be bothered thinking about whether it was merely coincidence or if one of them was somehow stealthy enough to stalk Asher without him noticing.

"What do you think the reward will be? I’m actually looking forward to it," Ryaen asked, expertly changing the topic.

Vaelric thought for a moment before replying, "I think there are four rewards, one from each Empire. I once overheard my Father discussing with the Imperial Council members about what reward the Zarethorne Empire could offer," he stated, basing his deduction on that conversation.

"Hey, Asher, since we’re all friends, why not spare one reward for us?" William spoke jokingly. "After all, what are friends for if not inconveniencing one another every now and then?" he mused with a grin.

Asher stared at William’s face with an amused smile before replying, "If you can defeat me in anything you feel confident in between now and the day of the gala, then sure, I’ll give any one of you a reward." His purple eyes shifted towards the others, making it clear that the same condition applied to every one of them.

Their eyes immediately sparkled with interest as they began wondering what they could possibly defeat Asher in. Of course, things like Bone Manipulation and similar abilities weren’t included. Otherwise, Ryaen could simply challenge Asher to such a duel and win, since Asher didn’t possess the ability to manipulate bones.

So this challenge was limited to ordinary activities and skills, such as car racing, horse racing, swimming, chess, gaming, holding one’s breath the longest, arm wrestling, dancing, or countless other competitions that didn’t rely on unique affinities or exclusive abilities.

"You aren’t going to take back your words when you lose, right?" Finch asked as a small smile appeared on his lips, looking as though he was already confident that his luck would activate if he could choose a game based purely on chance and randomization.

"I won’t. You’re supposed to know me well enough by now," Asher replied with a smile, ready to match each of them in whatever challenge they came up with. Whether it was a contest of skill, endurance, intelligence, reflexes, or even blind luck, he had no intention of refusing once the challenge had been issued.

That few hours before the gala, the moment he concluded his training, would be the time he accepted every single one of their challenges. It would undoubtedly be an entertaining way to pass the remaining hours before the ceremony officially began.

"We’ll see you later then," Vaelric said as he rose to his feet, looking as though he still had a few things to prepare for this particular challenge.

The others also stood up and headed towards the door. They had arrived only a short while ago and hadn’t even stayed for up to an hour before deciding to leave, allowing Asher to return to the training he had been planning since the moment he woke up.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: I released four Chapters today, so don’t mistakenly skip any.