It's been a long time since I've been back in Touahade territory.
　I came back a few times to stock up on lecithin for latex, but not as a rogue, but as an Ilg of the Balor Trading Company.
　I didn't feel like I was coming back, partly because I was careful not to reveal my identity to anyone other than my relatives.

'A lot has changed in two years.

The big difference from two years ago is the vast field of soybeans.
　Soybeans can be grown even in poor soil, and the harvest is not only labor-intensive but also has a healing effect on the land.
　In this country, soybeans are grown for livestock, and few people like to eat them. In this country, soybeans are grown to feed livestock, or they are grown in the hope that they will help heal the land.
　Taxes must be paid on wheat, or cash based on the market price of wheat. If farmers grow soybeans all the time, they will not be able to make ends meet. That's why they have been growing soybeans only half-heartedly.
　But Touahade bought them as raw material for latex, and the price is now about the same as wheat. Now, when it's easy to grow and make money, this is how the spacious fields of soybeans are spread out.
　Leaning out of the carriage, Tart looks out.

'It's good to be back at last. I've missed it. But now I feel that a city like Murteau suits you better, Lug-sama.''
'Is that how you saw it?　I feel like this one is much more s*xual to me. It's more comforting.

In Murteu, his hair, which he had dyed to become an Irg, was back to its natural silver color.
　As I was heading to the mansion in the carriage, the lords came running up to me with a wave of their hands.
　It seems that they remembered me properly.

The disguise was a success, but it made me sad.

'Welcome back!　You're a real boy. He's a child prodigy. Soybeans sell for a very high price, and the wages at the work place that makes soybeans weird are huge, so that's a big help.
'Thanks to you, little man, I could buy two cows.
You worked for us when you were out there!
It's very nice of you, but I've had a lot of trouble without you, haven't I?

From what I've heard, my father seems to explain that I'm the one who created the route to sell the soybeans at a high price. The lords say that life has become easier, the lords say.
　........Once again, I'm glad that I've started to purchase lecithin from Touahade.

As a matter of fact, the Balor Chamber of Commerce would even realize that soybeans are the raw material.
　The only reason they don't expose more than that is because they're afraid I'll bend their navel before they can figure out how to turn soy into lecithin. ........or what I call consideration for merit.
　Balor is a merchant and compassionate.
　All the time I was in Irg, that man treated me as a real son.
　Well, in his case, even his compassion is a calculated way of doing business. It's often misunderstood, but being a cold-hearted merchant who ignores other people's emotions and seeks only efficiency is second-rate.
　If they do that, the minds of the people around them will gradually turn away from them, and they will surely lose money in the long run. A first-class merchant measures even the hearts and minds in terms of profit and loss, and invests time and money if necessary.
　I learned that from watching Balor.

'Keep it, Master Lugue, keep it.
'Don't be shy. I'm just thanking you.

The lords hand over a lot of crops, cheese, hunted meat and smoked fish.
　I couldn't refuse them and as soon as I accepted them, both my hands were full.

''Rougu-sama is very loved, isn't he?

Tart said, sounding as proud of himself as if he were.

''Yes, I am. That's why I want this territory to flourish.''

Just as my father, and my grandfather, have done.
　I am a reincarnated assassin, but more than that, I am a rogue, the next head of the Touahade family.

◇

When I returned to the mansion, my mother suddenly hugged me.

'Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!　I've missed you, Rougie. Oh, you smell like rougue. It's awful, isn't it? You came home the other day and all you did was talk to Kian about work.
'....Mother, at least do that kind of thing in a private place. If you do it in front of the tart, it's going to put me in a bad position.
'That's impossible. It's been so long since I've been a rogue girl!　I've missed you, kun, kun, kun. You can't leave again, rougue. Well, I've had my fill. Welcome home, Tart. Thank you for being with him. I'm sure he's very lonely, despite his appearance.
No, no. I was rather spoiled by Master Rogues.
'Really?　Keep up the good work on your rogue!　She tries to do everything on her own, so it's a relief to have a girl like you around.
Yeah, I'll do my best.

Her face is red and she is upright and immobile.

'Mother, where's your father?'
Oh, yeah. She asked me to tell her to come to the study when she returned. And while you're talking to Kian, Tart will tell you all about Lugue-chan's time in Murteu. Lug-chan doesn't talk about herself at all, even in her letters.
Ha, yes. All in all!　We'll spend plenty of time talking.

........It makes me feel embarrassed to have my mother hear the story from the closest tart I've ever been to.
　Nevertheless, I know there's no point in saying anything to my mother, and the tart is weak to push, so there's no point in keeping her quiet.
　I'd already given up on everything. At least let's pray that the tart doesn't talk about that one.
　I was out of my mind at the time. ........Even though I had been reincarnated, I was reminded that I was fourteen and a creature that could be swept up in such impulses.

◇

I put the tart down and head to the study.
　As I walk into the room, my father looks at me. ........or should I say, he's assessing me.
　He's checking on my growth over the past two years.

'Roug, you've grown up.
Yes, I became an adult about a month ago.

In the Kingdom of Arvan, a man comes of age at fourteen and is considered a full-fledged man.
　This is the age at which you can marry.
　If you are a nobleman, it can be said that it is normal for them to have gotten engaged and arranged the date of the ceremony long ago.
　.........Only about five years ago, though, it became the norm in this country to only get engaged for a certain reason, and then get married when you turn sixteen.

'That's not what I meant. 'Unfortunately, this country is full of big kids. The Lugues have truly grown up. ...I ordered him to set himself up as a merchant in Murteu, but I never thought he'd go that far. There isn't a nobleman in the world who doesn't know about Orna, the cosmetic brand of Irg Balor.
I created a plan to create and promote a signature product called emulsion... but from there, it was Valor's strength. I didn't expect him to use the fame he gained from the milky lotion to rewrite the balance of power in the cosmetics industry by adding brand value to even the most mundane cosmetic products.

The company painted a picture of revolutionizing makeup with the use of emulsions as a weapon.
　I anticipated that this would happen, and that's why I developed milky lotion and entered the cosmetics business.
　However, things progressed more than five times as fast as I had expected.
　As the head of the cosmetics business, I had seen it all and done it all, but the tremendous power behind it was astounding.
　I casually said that Balor had decided it was worth the money and that he would put all his resources into it, but the speed and rigidity of the project reminded me that that was the real merchant.
　Now Orna is no longer the brand that created the emulsion, but a top brand.

'That man is near the pinnacle of merchantdom. I think it's amazing just to be able to compare myself to him. I explained that I gave Lugue the merchant experience to learn about the world, to create a mask for his assassination business, to make connections. Those are not lies. There's another big one. Do you understand?

I shake my head.

I could always read my father's thoughts, but for once I couldn't imagine what he was thinking.

'I wanted you to find a way to live other than as a Touahade. 'Lug, you can succeed not only as an assassin aristocrat, but also as a merchant. Many people want that. Balor told me that it would be better for Lug to abandon his position as an assassin and devote himself to being a merchant. He said it would be better for Lug to do that and that guy didn't just say the word, he said he would accumulate twenty years' worth of tax revenue for this territory. From now on, he wants you to set up as number two in the Valor Trading Company and assist him and eventually support his son. If the rogue chooses to take that path, I will not stop him.
'Father, what are you saying?　My experience as a merchant is only for assassinations.

Yes, I've been a successful merchant, but that's only a process, not a goal.

"I can't live any other way now, Lug. But you can choose another way to live, if you haven't already been involved in assassinations. We, the Toaheade, have protected this country by removing the rotten and poisonous foci from within. But it does not protect us. The royal families who have used us will punish us as criminals to keep us from looking weak to the nobles if Touahade's assassination business ever comes to light. Loyalty to our country is a vain thing.

My father's words were spun without inflection and without hesitation.
　And yet, there was a chill down my spine and a heaviness that sent a chill down my stomach.

'Let's be clear. Even being cut down when the assassination is exposed is the role of Touahade. Even if we don't make any mistakes, it could be leaked from the client's side...It's an insurance policy to have another register in place from birth. So that when the state cuts you off, you can run away and live as a different person. But I also think of it this way. You might as well quit assassinating people you know don't deserve it and live your life the way you were meant to live it. Now, I'm going to ask you again, Lug. Will you still be living as a rogue Touahade?

From an early age, he was taught that the work of Touahade is precious.
　That Touahade is the one who protects the Kingdom of Alvan.
　And yet, now, for the first time, he is being told the cold reality.

No, it's not just now, but it's probably because of now.
　After spending two years learning about the wider world out there, before he can't back out of the assassination and get out of hand.

........Before my reincarnation, I was just raised as a tool to assassinate, and I was just used without thinking about it.
　Without a second thought. Just a blade.
　But my father was different. He taught me the art of assassination from an early age, but he still taught me to love.
　I had made up my mind. I wouldn't be a tool, I would choose to be one.

"Father, I ... no, 'Father, I' choose to be a 'Touahade'. There are certain things I can only do if I am a Touahade.

You dared to use me, not me, and not your father.
　I wanted to tell him, in my own way, that it was a choice I made as a man.

"Does this sound like justice?　He's ready to lay down his life to protect this country.
"...it's different. I'm not that auspicious. But I care about the people of Touahade and the people I know in Murteau, so I want this country to be at peace. I don't want them to destroy the happiness I have found. In the first place, if the country cuts me off, I have no problem with that. I was trained by my father, so there's no way I'm going to get caught quietly. It's not too late for me to escape and live as an Irg. We'll see what happens when they cut me off.

I don't wield this blade, and I don't assassinate a brave man because someone ordered me to. I do it of my own free will, for my own happiness.
　And I won't let my guard down like I did the first time.
　I'll never doubt my client's royalty or his goddess. I'll never be killed again.
　My father stares at me wordlessly. I continue.

'There is another reason. There's something you can't get unless you're a Touahade.
What's that?　I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.
'I'm in love with Dia Vicone. And we still write to each other. I'm telling you this because this is to my father, but I actually meet with him about once a month, sneaking through the border and sneaking into the mansion without anyone noticing. It's good training for me to get both the border and the Countess' security. I'm thinking of marrying eventually I'll have to be in a good position to tie the knot with the Countess Dia.

I used to find time to meet with Dia even when I was in Murteau.
[Super Recovery] and using the super speed travel due to the use of enormous magic power and original magic, until I made it to that place and back in one day.
　He loved talking about the new magic with Dia and talking about the new magic, and looking at Dia's good-looking face while writing down the magic she had created.

''Kudos, hahahahahaha. I thought he was an overmatched son, but I didn't know he could be so stupid. Oh, yeah, Dear. Oh, I see. You're an assassin, then. Now, I have a job for you to do for me a very important one. I have a few of your men to take care of. The kind of scum that sells military secrets to our neighbors, takes drugs and distributes them to infect our people. They need to be cut out of this country as soon as possible.

...it's horrible.
　Selling secrets and drugging your country with drugs.
　And I think there's something fundamentally wrong with this country that can't do it right.

'We'll do it. Two weeks is enough time.
Mm, we'll let him. I'm not going to tell you what to do. You do it the way you want to do it.

The first assassination on this world.
　And a very, very noxious aristocrat.
　Your arms are bare.
　We'll make sure it gets taken care of. And that too, without leaving a single trace.
　It's too easy compared to the real thing, but it's not bad for a first kill.