The Acolyte of Spirits and Curses

Chapter 89: The secret [1]

"You must be curious what that ’secret’ is..."

Klein didn’t interrupt her this time. He simply watched her, giving her the space to say what she needed to say without rushing her.

Arwen inhaled slowly, as if grounding herself, "Well... it’s about our profession."

Cynthia stiffened slightly beside him and Klein’s gaze narrowed slightly "...Profession?"

Arwen gave a faint nod, "...We kill people for money. We’re assassins."

For a moment, Klein simply stared at her, and his mind clearly paused on what he just heard.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the words.

It was that he didn’t expect them.

Out of everything he could have imagined about their "secret," this wasn’t what he had prepared for.

A quiet breath left his lips as he leaned back slightly, "...Assassins."

Cynthia looked away for a second, clearly uneasy now that it had been said out loud, while Arwen remained still.

"I didn’t expect that," he said honestly and his gaze softened slightly as he looked at them both again.

He leaned forward again as his hand moved without much thought, resting gently on Cynthia’s head for a brief moment before sliding down to her shoulder, while his other hand reached for Arwen’s, holding it loosely.

"...You really thought I’d freak out?" he asked with a faint smirk on his lips.

Cynthia blinked at that, clearly not expecting that reaction. "...I mean... yeah? We are murderers."

Klein shook his head slightly "I’ve seen worse. And I have killed thousands of people in my past life."

"So it doesn’t concern me that you killed people. But what concerns me is your safety."

"Assassin is a dangerous job..."

Cynthia’s shoulders eased just a little as she leaned into him again, her cheek brushing against his chest, and her earlier anxiety softened into relief.

"No need to worry. We are not exactly helpless, we also awakened like you."

"...What-"

He was startled to hear this, and for a brief moment, he just stared at them in surprise.

"...You’re serious?" he asked with a slight frown.

Cynthia let out a small laugh and kissed his cheek "Do we look like we’re joking?"

Klein stared at her for another second before his gaze slowly shifted to Arwen.

Arwen met his eyes and gave a small nod.

Klein leaned back slightly, running a hand through his hair "I see..."

Before he could say anything else, Arwen leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"We’re sorry," she said softly and her voice carried a sincerity that didn’t need embellishment.

"For not telling you... all these years."

Cynthia, still leaning against his side, nodded faintly "We didn’t mean to hide it from you forever... we just didn’t know how to say it."

Klein looked at both of them with a faint chuckle "...You two really chose the worst possible timing to reveal everything."

Cynthia winced slightly. "...Yeah."

His gaze softened "...But I get it. Some things aren’t easy to say."

His hand moved, gently brushing against Arwen’s wrist before sliding up to rest over her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"And I’m not exactly in a position to complain about secrets," he muttered with a faint smile.

Cynthia let out a small breath at that, "...So we’re not in trouble?" she asked cautiously.

Klein raised an eyebrow "Were you expecting punishment?"

"...Maybe a little,"

Klein shook his head, and the faint smile was still there as he looked at both of them "...Just don’t hide things like this again,"

Cynthia nodded, and Arwen gave a quiet "Mm."

---

Klein stayed quiet for a few seconds after their apology, his fingers still loosely holding Arwen’s hand while Cynthia leaned against his side.

After a moment, he lifted his gaze again "...Did you become assassins for money?"

Cynthia and Arwen exchanged a brief glance, one of those silent conversations they had gotten used to over the years, before both of them gave a small nod.

"...Yeah. At the start... it was for money."

Arwen didn’t deny it either. "We needed it. We didn’t have many options back then. Also, I awakened the [Assassin] class... so..."

Klein’s expression tightened slightly at that, clearly not liking the idea of them being assassins "...Then quit."

Both of them blinked.

Cynthia tilted her head slightly. "Huh?"

Klein looked at them seriously "Quit the assassin work. You don’t need to keep doing something that dangerous anymore."

"I’ll figure something out. Money, resources... whatever you need. I’ll handle it."

Cynthia let out a small breath "You really say things so easily."

Arwen’s gaze lowered for a second "...It’s not that simple, Klein."

"You can’t just... quit being an assassin like it’s a part-time job."

"Because it’s not just a job. It’s an organization. A network. Contracts, obligations... people above us who don’t take kindly to members walking away."

Cynthia nodded faintly "Once you’re in, you don’t just leave whenever you feel like it without consequences."

Klein’s expression darkened slightly as he listened, "...So I guess they’ll come after you if you try to quit."

Cynthia gave a small shrug. "Best case, they blacklist us. Worst case, they eliminate liabilities."

His gaze narrowed further ’And I am not strong enough to force the organization behind them.’

He hated that.

In his past life, if someone threatened the people he cared about, he would simply walk into their headquarters and erase the problem himself.

Cynthia noticed the troubled look in his eyes and gently placed her hand over his.

"Don’t worry, Klein," she said with a reassuring smile. "We’re not weak."

"We’re both S-Rank Arbiters. We’ve survived for years doing this."

Arwen nodded in agreement beside her "Very few assassination requests are actually dangerous for us. Most targets are nowhere near our level, and we’re careful about the jobs we accept."

Cynthia smiled a little more brightly, trying to ease his trouble "And... I don’t really dislike my job either."

"We don’t kill innocent people."

"The organization has rules, and so do we. We refuse contracts involving civilians, children, or anyone whose only crime is getting in someone else’s way."

Arwen quietly continued where Cynthia left off.

"Most of our targets are criminals, traffickers, corrupt officials, and members of underground organizations."

"We investigate every contract ourselves before accepting it."

Klein listened without interrupting, and the knot in his chest loosened slightly.

Cynthia squeezed his hand gently "So... for the time being, let us continue doing this."

"There isn’t any reason to provoke the organization by trying to leave right now."

"It would only create unnecessary trouble."

Klein slowly closed his eyes ’I still don’t like it...’

After a long moment, he finally opened his eyes again and looked at the two women sitting beside him.

"...Alright. Just for a while."