The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 30: Goodnight Guys

Ignotus had lost interest immediately.

Turning his back on the armed men—an ultimate sign of disrespect—he walked over to the tree where Felix was hiding.

"Hey, Spoon. Come out; I’m hungry."

Felix emerged, his face pale, eyes darting to the four dead bodies on the ground, making him gulp hard.

"Y-Young Lord... that was..."

"Give me some cooked meat."

Ignotus interrupted once more, extending a hand.

"I burned a lot of calories just now."

Felix hurriedly grabbed a skewer of roasted monkey meat from the fire and handed it over with both hands, as if offering a Divine Relic to a God.

Ignotus took it and sat down on a nearby log, right in front of the three frozen assassins.

He took a big bite...

Chew. Chew. Chew.

Only to frown.

"It’s bland."

Ignotus inspected the charred meat.

"Did you forget the salt? Or do we just not have any?"

"We... we don’t have any salt, Young Lord. We never did."

Felix barely squeaked out an answer.

"We are fugitives hiding in a jungle."

"Excuses..."

Ignotus grumbled, taking another bite.

"You’re the butler. Next time, you have to find a way to bring spices. A good meal is the foundation of a good day."

"I... I will make a note of it."

They sat there for a minute, the fire crackling while Felix nibbled nervously on his own piece of meat, constantly checking to see if the three assassins had moved or not.

Ignotus ate with gusto, ignoring the metallic smell of blood in the air.

But suddenly, he stopped chewing and looked up at the assassins.

They were still standing there, statues of fear, watching him eat.

"Why are you all acting like gargoyles?"

Ignotus scowled, genuinely annoyed.

"You’re ruining my meal. It’s creepy. Sit down or something."

Felix coughed, choking on his meat.

"Young Lord, you..."

He thumped his chest and glanced at his Lord.

"You told them to freeze, my Lord."

Ignotus paused, a piece of gristle hanging from his lip.

"Oh."

He swallowed the food.

"Right. I did do that."

He took another bite, chewing thoughtfully.

"Hm."

Ignotus finished the skewer and tossed the stick into the fire.

Wiping his greasy hands on his pants—he really needed new clothes—he stood up and approached the assassin in the middle.

This one looked older, but his eyes held the same terror as the crying kid.

"Hey..."

He casually leaned against a tree next to him.

"I don’t hate you. Well, at least not because you’re an assassin who tried to kill me. I was one myself, you know. I understand the struggle."

Felix, who was cleaning up the bones, raised an eyebrow so high it almost hit his hairline.

’You were? Since when? You’ve been locked in a manor for all your life!’

Ignotus ignored his butler’s confusion and continued his one-sided heart-to-heart with the assassin:

"Use those things in your minds a little."

He tapped his own temple.

"Why do you live? Why were you born? Which idiot convinced you to do this? Actually, I already know that part—House Death is pretty persuasive, I’d say."

He began to pace back and forth in front of them.

"Did you think there’s a meaning to any of this? The killing? The gold?"

Ignotus stopped and looked them in the eyes.

"You know, back when I was an assassin... though only for a short while... I killed only because I wanted to. Not because someone told me to. I was an assassin who killed those who deserved to be killed... at least in my eyes. I was my own leader. My own moral compass. Granted, the compass was broken, but it was mine."

He leaned in close to the older assassin’s face.

"Do you agree? Isn’t freedom better than servitude?"

The assassin stared at him; his lips quivered, but no sound came out.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ignotus frowned.

"Rude. I’m trying to have a philosophical moment here."

Felix cleared his throat from the background.

"You told them not to speak, Young Lord."

Ignotus snapped his fingers.

"I know! I know! You don’t have to remind me every time, Spoon!"

He waved his hand dismissively at Felix.

"Just focus on the meat. Make sure it doesn’t burn."

Ignotus turned away from the assassins, bored again.

He felt sticky—the monkey blood, the assassin blood, the sweat... it was a gross cocktail.

"Alright, follow me..."

Ignotus commanded the three.

"And bring a torch."

The assassins, terrified to disobey, grabbed a torch from the fire and shuffled after him.

Felix stayed behind to cook, doing as a butler should.

Ignotus trekked through the brush until he heard the sound of water.

A small, secluded lake lay shimmering under the broken moonlight.

"Perfect."

He walked right up to the edge and knelt down.

Cupping his hands, he drank deeply.

The water was freezing cold, but to his dry lips and parched throat, it tasted like the finest wine in the Third Stratum.

"Ah..."

He splashed water on his face, scrubbing away the grime, then washed his hands, watching the red swirls fall into the dirt beneath him.

"Not bad, not bad at all."

Once done, he stood up, water dripping from his chin, and calmly looked at the reflection of the moon on the lake.

Ignotus was truly enjoying himself.

Here, there were no family politics, lectures, or poisoning chefs.

It was just him, the wild, and three terrified men he could kill whenever he felt like it.

This was freedom.

"Okay people, bath time’s over."

He turned around and walked over to a cluster of massive, broad-leafed plants.

Ignoring the sap, he ripped several giant leaves off.

"Let’s go."

Ignotus marched back to the camp, the three assassins following closely behind like confused ducklings, and when they arrived, it seemed Felix had cleaned up the food scraps.

"Watch and learn, Spoon."

Finding two sturdy trees about six feet apart, Ignotus used some vines he had snagged on the way back and began tying the giant leaves between the trees, creating quite a contraption.

It was a crude hammock that looked more like a salad bowl than a bed.

"A masterpiece."

Ignotus grabbed the edge of the hammock and tried to hop in.

Flip.

The hammock spun, making him flail around.

"Whoa~!"

He nearly face-planted into the dirt, only staying on thanks to his strength.

The assassins flinched at what they saw, terrified he would blame them for gravity.

"I meant to do that..."

But Ignotus only grunted and jumped down. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Testing the... tensile strength, yes."

He tried again, much slower this time, and shimmied into the leaves, wrapping himself tight until he looked like a giant green mummy suspended in the air.

"Okay, it’s solid."

From his cocoon, only his head was visible.

"You three..."

Ignotus looked at the three assassins standing awkwardly by the fire.

"Help Felix clean up the camp. Bury your friends, or eat them. I don’t care; just get rid of the bodies."

The assassins nodded frantically.

"Once you’re done, stand guard. Don’t move, don’t sleep, and don’t run. If I wake up and you’re gone... well, I have a very particular set of skills. I will find you. Also, don’t think you can kill me while I’m asleep; you won’t be able to."

He yawned.

"I’ll decide what to do with you tomorrow. Maybe I’ll let you go, maybe I’ll make you dig a few more graves. Surprises are fun, right?"

And with that, he closed his eyes.

’Goodnight, Seeker Ignotus.’

Eris whispered in his mind, her tone sounding amused.

’Goodnight, Goddess in my Soul, and...’

"Goodnight, guys."

Within seconds, soft breathing drifted from the leaf-cocoon.

Felix and the three assassins stood still in the flickering light of the fire, surrounded by dead bodies.

They all stared at the sleeping man.

"Is he..."

One of the assassins whispered, his voice trembling.

"Is he actually asleep?"

Felix sighed, picking up a shovel.

"Yes. Yes, he is."

He looked at the assassins with pity.

"Grab a shovel. He hates lazy people."