Night Attack

"Master, wake up" Nozomi's shout made me sit up abruptly, and I felt a hard thump on my forehead, along with the sound of something metallic hitting the floor.

"Shit!" A rough male voice I didn't recognize cursed in the darkness of the room.

Ignoring the pain in my forehead, I reached for the nightstand and grabbed the dagger with little difficulty, unsheathing it and looking into the darkness. At first, I couldn't see anything, but soon I could make out a figure dressed in black touching its nose.

"Nozomi" I tried to communicate with her; if she warned me, it was because there was someone with the twins, "protect the twins, use your blood powers, and when you're done, consume their bodies. Be discreet".

"Understood".

While the person was still dazed from the blow, I lunged at him and threw him to the ground. He was unarmed right now, and I wouldn't have another chance. This person probably had better stats than me, so I aimed for his neck.

"Damn it!" The person tried to push me off, but with little success; I had blocked his arms with my legs.

I moved my right hand toward his neck and, using the dagger, cut his trachea. For a moment, I could see the terror in the man's eyes, which gradually lost their shine until he was completely still. I slowly got up and surveyed the scene; a large pool of blood had formed beneath the man's body, and his lifeless gaze stared back at me. A wave of nausea washed over me, and I couldn't help but gag and vomit. I stumbled and fell to the ground on my backside, hyperventilating. I had killed a person; my hands trembled, and I dropped the dagger. I felt my strength leaving me, but I forced myself to stand, picked up the dagger, and quickly headed to the twins' room.

After opening the door, Nozomi looked at me with a smile. There was a dim light in the room, and the twins were huddled together, looking terrified at two corpses. They were also two hooded figures dressed in black, both bodies riddled with holes—undoubtedly the work of Nozomi's "blood spike." After letting out a sigh of relief, the strength in my legs gave out, and I fell to my knees. The twins looked at me, and they immediately rushed toward me. Karen was on the verge of tears, while Kharel had a mix of anger and helplessness on his face. I stroked both of their heads; they didn't seem injured, but I guessed they were in shock, probably due to the state of the bodies. I tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. I still felt nauseous and unconsciously began to hug the twins tightly, probably to calm myself, but more than anything, it was for that feeling I had almost forgotten—the warm embrace of another human being.

"Master..." Nozomi said after a few minutes of watching us hug— What should I do?

I swallowed hard before answering, trying to make the nausea go away.

"Search the bodies; they might have information about who they are."

The twins looked at me strangely.

"Who are you talking to?" Karen's voice trembled when she spoke.

I paused for a moment, probably they had already seen Nozomi in action, so I didn't think I should hide more about her or my power.

"With Nozomi," I finally said "as you may have seen, she is not an ordinary slime".

I directed my gaze toward Nozomi; she had started to delve into the dark clothing of the assassins, and the twins followed my gaze.

"Nozomi,"  I said softly "return to your normal form, and you can speak out loud".

"Understood." Hearing Nozomi's sweet voice was very refreshing.

Both twins were surprised when the slime, previously blue, had taken on a blood-red hue.

"A blood slime..."  Karen said once she got over her surprise.

"How did you manage to tame such a monster?" Kharel echoed his sister's words.

"I'm not an ordinary tamer,"  I said bluntly "I have a special ability that allows me to forge pacts with other creatures".

Both siblings exchanged glances; it seemed hard for them to believe.

"The master protected me," Nozomi approached us "and that's why I decided to accompany him. Did I scare you?"

With a sad expression, Nozomi stared at the twins; it seemed she had bonded with them a lot, and if they rejected her for being different, it would probably break her heart.

"No, it's okay," Karen was the first to speak, stepping away from me and approaching Nozomi "we were just in shock from those people".

Whether it was true or she didn't want to make Nozomi cry, Karen seemed to have calmed down and picked Nozomi up in her arms.

"We were afraid to say anything,"  I said with a tone of regret "Nozomi is of a rare species, and my power is probably even stranger. I’m sorry for hiding that from you."

Kharel stood up and looked at me with determination.

"You don’t have to apologize!" He raised his voice quite a bit, to which his sister hit him on the head with her fist. "Ouch, that hurts!"

"Don’t raise your voice, idiot,"  Karen didn’t raise her voice, but her words had the same force as if she were shouting "But don’t apologize; we understand your situation. You just met us, and I’m sure this blockhead would have attacked Nozomi after seeing her true appearance."

"No...! " Kharel covered his mouth with his hands, interrupting himself "I wouldn’t have done that; she’s still Ray’s companion."

"Still, I’ve hidden things from you," and I was still hiding more, so I clenched my fists. I shouldn’t reveal that, not yet "and for that, I am sorry. Besides, there are still things I can’t tell you."

Karen looked at me strangely, but her expression quickly changed to one of compassion.

"You aren't an amnesiac? " she asked finally.

"No, I’m not, but I hardly know anything about this place; that much is true."

Karen fell silent, deep in thought.

"Are you from another country or another continent?" This time it was Kharel who spoke, and his eyes showed excitement. His sister elbowed him when he finished his sentence.

"You could say that," I replied "from a very distant continent."

Kharel looked at me with enthusiasm. What was he thinking?

"Are you a secret agent?" He continued "A hero who will save the world? A demon from another plane? A...?"

Karen shoved one of Kharel's shoes into his mouth, interrupting his monologue.

"Do you want to calm down?" She seemed about to explode "He just said he can’t tell us anything; don’t bombard him with questions."

Kharel took the shoe out of his mouth and was about to protest, but he fell silent.

"I promise I’ll tell you everything in due time," I said as I approached the assassins' bodies "but now is not that time. Do you know who these guys are and why they tried to kill us? There’s one in my room."

Karen approached with some apprehension; I suppose seeing a corpse is quite shocking, especially in such a bad state.

"I found a strange tattoo on their wrists," Nozomi seemed to have formed a little slime arm and was pointing to the inner wrist of one of the corpses."

I crouched down, holding back the nausea from the strong smell of blood, rolled up the black shirt the assassin was wearing, and turned his arm. There it was, the black tattoo of a spider, and if my knowledge of biology was correct, it was specifically that of a black widow. How unsettling. Karen looked thoughtful as she observed the tattoo, and Kharel's mouth dropped open.

"The black widow!" He finally exclaimed, raising his voice, though this time less than before "It’s an assassin guild that takes contracts from noble families to eliminate people who bother them."

What a name they have; it reminds me of a certain organization from a certain anime. But the question is, who would want these two twins dead? I imagine I was just collateral damage; it’s better not to leave potential threats alive.

"It can’t be..." Karen’s expression showed a mix of surprise and terror; she seemed to know the reason.

"Is it because of your family?"  I stroked her head; I would hug her, but we weren’t that close yet. Or so I thought, because she hugged me without a second thought.

"They’re probably our father’s enemies," Kharel answered, his tone quite serious.

"That’s probably why he let us go on this trip," On the verge of tears, Karen gathered her strength to speak "to protect us from the enemies of the Laurean house."

Or to make it easier to finish you off... I better keep those words to myself; I don’t know their father yet, so I can’t comment much on this matter.

"It seems it didn’t help much," I said quietly as I continued searching the bodies.

The corpses themselves didn’t seem to have anything else, just a few daggers that looked better than mine, but there were no personal belongings. One of them was a woman; it was hard to tell with the black clothing they wore. I picked up the daggers from the floor and stored them in the bottomless bag. What a first use it’s going to have.

"What should we do?" Kharel asked, looking worried.

"For now, I think it’s best not to draw attention," I stepped away from the bodies and took Nozomi from Karen’s arms "Nozomi, devour the corpses; I’ll go check the one in my room."

As I was about to leave, Kharel grabbed my arm.

"Wait, I’m going with you!" He had a determined look; I wasn’t sure if he wanted to protect me or keep an eye on me.

I simply nodded, and we left. Karen stayed behind, watching as Nozomi began to devour the bodies. Kharel reached my room first and pressed a kind of switch on the wall, illuminating the room dimly. How had I not noticed that? But now wasn’t the time to be surprised by such things. The corpse of the man I had killed lay on the floor, in the same position I had left him. The scene was even more shocking now that there was light.

Kharel approached the corpse and looked at its right wrist.

"He’s also part of the Black Widow," he said quickly "Did you kill him by yourself?"

"I got lucky," I admitted, which wasn’t a lie; I had killed him purely by chance "Nozomi warned me about the threat in your room, and in the surprise, I jumped up suddenly, giving the assassin a headbutt to the nose. While he was dazed, I grabbed my dagger, and well, you can see the rest."

Kharel’s eyes lit up.

"You had it all planned out!" He seemed overly excited.

"No, I told you it was pure luck," but it didn’t seem like Kharel was going to listen to me.

I approached the corpse and swallowed hard; my own vomit was beside the body, mixing with the blood. I shook my head and picked up the assassin's dagger; it was just like the others. I began to search the corpse, hoping to find some clue about the client of this guild or even some money, but there was nothing. Moreover, the clothing was starting to get sticky from the blood. Nozomi and Karen entered the room, and the redhead immediately covered her mouth upon seeing the scene.

"Nozomi, you can eat this one too."

Nozomi nodded and moved toward the corpse, which she devoured effortlessly, also cleaning the entire floor, making the blood and vomit disappear.

"Did he had anything important?" Karen asked after recovering.

"No, just the same tattoo as the others."

I sat on the bed, and both siblings quickly joined me. Nozomi jumped onto my lap.

"What should we do now?" Karen asked, looking quite nervous.

"I don’t think we should tell anyone," I said after thinking for a moment "With a bit of luck, the guild won’t know that these three are dead and won’t send anyone else, but if we say something, they’ll realize much faster."

Karen thought for a while, and Kharel was staring at the ceiling with a lost look. I decided to check my status; I wanted to see, even if I didn’t like it, if killing humans granted experience.

And there it was; both my level and Nozomi’s had increased by 2, and what surprised me the most was that I now had a new job available: "Assassin." According to its description, it was a class granted only to those who kill their own kind... this is very bad... or maybe it’s good? Assassin might grant me offensive skills, allowing me to fight for myself; I would have to think it over carefully.

"Alright," Karen finally spoke "We’ll keep this a secret. You probably don’t want to be our companion now..."

Karen looked down, and I understood why she said that. Being pursued by a band of assassins is a reason for others to distance themselves from you. And well... I won’t lie that I would like to run away and hide, but I don’t want to leave these two siblings behind; they are my companions... my friends.

"No, I won’t abandon you," I said with a smile "I will protect you. Nozomi has the ability to defeat a hundred more like those assassins; she won’t be easily defeated by them."

Nozomi looked at me and immediately blushed, making her blood-red hue turn a brighter shade.

"Oh, Master," Nozomi said happily "Don’t say such things; I’m just doing what I can."

I laughed at her comment, and it seemed the twins joined in the laughter, a good way to relax. But after a short while, silence returned until Karen looked at me.

"Can you sleep with us?" Her face mixed embarrassment with fear, though she tried to hide both."

"Yes!"  Kharel chimed in "We can push our beds together and sleep all four of us!"

This surprised me, though it made sense. Being together would ensure our protection in case we were attacked again. Although it made me a bit embarrassed, it was a good plan.

"Alright," I finally replied "Let’s do it."

Kharel jumped off the bed and ran to his room. Karen’s face was red, and she avoided looking at me. She picked up Nozomi in her arms, got off the bed, and left the room. I followed her, turning off the light and closing the door behind me.

When I entered the twins' room, Kharel had already pushed the two beds together, moving the nightstand that had been between them aside. The redhead looked at me with a huge smile, and his eyes seemed to shine with excitement. Karen simply moved to the back bed and sat on it.

"You look very red," Nozomi commented after observing Karen "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes," Karen replied nervously "I’m still a bit unsettled, that’s all."

Clearly, she was more embarrassed than anything else. I suppose it was either admitting she was scared in front of a stranger or the thought of sharing a bed with someone she had just met.

"Get in the middle, Ray," Kharel said, acting as if everything was perfectly normal, oblivious to his sister’s feelings.

I sighed, placed the dagger on the nightstand since the other one was occupied with the twins' gear, and lay down between the two beds.

This reminded me of a trip I took when I was in school. In the hotel room where we stayed, we decided to push the beds together to talk late into the night and sleep together. Those were good times.

As we settled in, I could feel the warmth of the twins on either side of me. Nozomi nestled against my side, and I could hear Karen’s soft breathing as she lay down. Kharel was on the other side, his excitement palpable.

"Goodnight, everyone," I said, trying to ease the tension.

"Goodnight, Master," Nozomi replied, her voice soft and comforting.

"Goodnight," Karen echoed, her voice still a bit shaky.

"Goodnight!" Kharel said cheerfully.

As I closed my eyes, I felt a mix of emotions. The events of the night weighed heavily on my mind, but the warmth of my companions brought me a sense of comfort. I hoped that tomorrow would bring clarity and safety, and that we could figure out what to do next.

Sleep came slowly, but eventually, I drifted off, surrounded by the presence of my newfound friends, ready to face whatever challenges awaited us in the days to come.