Former Assassin – 0

I, who was nameless, was often addressed by the number 19956.

Ever since I could remember, I’d lived in the dingy back alleys of the slums. Without fail, a man would come to me. He’d give me a hit list and I’d kill those on it to get paid.

For a long time, such was my life.

I never thought that killing was bad. It was just a means of survival.

It didn’t mean I had a reason to live—or to die. 

Rather than living, I was merely existing. I was alive because I wasn’t dead. 

When I was hungry, I’d eat.

To eat, I needed money, so I worked.

That’s all. It’s almost instinctual.

One day, after decades of such a life, I received a request to assassinate the so-called Crown Prince of this country.

“…I can’t afford to lose him, and him alone.”

Someone was protecting the man I was hired to kill.

He was quite adept.

“—I’ll protect him, even if my life is forfeit.”

What a strange thing to say.

He’d sacrifice his life for someone else?

I, who’d always lived only for myself, had no clue what he was talking about.

Yet, I could sense that this man was dangerous.

—I might not be able to make it out alive.

I didn’t think I was afraid of dying.