On that day, it seemed we were using an underground facility for training. Entry into that place was normally forbidden.
“Lugh, from this day forth, I am going to begin sharing with you the secrets of our unrivaled medical and assassination knowledge. But first, repeat to me the family creed.”
“The Tuatha Dé clan’s skills are only to be used to ensure the prosperity of the kingdom,” I parroted.
“How does our medical technology benefit the country?”
“By saving the lives of major figures.”
“That’s exactly right. Our family has little political power. However, if we can save the lives of those above us, they will be able to make our country a better place. Next question. For what purpose does the Tuatha Dé clan carry out assassinations?”
“To eliminate those who have become an unhealthy presence in our lands. We remove people who are of foul mind in order to prevent them from causing excess damage.”
Without falter, I recited the Tuatha Dé family principles that my father had repeated to me countless times.
We existed to keep those who were beneficial to our country alive, and we killed those who would cause harm. Our family brought prosperity to the country through our control over life and death.
“Right again,” said Father. “If, for example, a noble was to go mad with ambition and start a rebellion, even if such an uprising fell, the toll it would take would be felt throughout the kingdom. Our fellow countrymen would be made to fight and kill each other. However, we have the ability to prevent such a situation from occurring before a single commoner dies. No matter how cunning a person is, no matter how above the law they may seem, they die at our hand just as sure as any other.”
The blade of the Tuatha Dé clan was most commonly turned toward the nobles of this country.
In the Alvanian Kingdom, the nobility had significant sway in matters of the court. With that power, they were often able to escape punishment. They’d built such a safety net for themselves that even the royal family had trouble going after them. However, all the political power in the world couldn’t save a man with a dagger in his throat. Such was their fate when the Tuatha Dé clan was called upon to dispose of them.
As my more intense training was finally about to begin, it was from then on that I would gain the strength needed to fulfill my family’s long-standing duty.
“Lugh, in what way are martial artists similar to doctors?” asked my father.
“Hmm. In order to efficiently best a person in combat, you need to understand the human body.”
Martial artists had a good understanding of anatomy. Such knowledge allowed them precise control over their movements and gave them the information necessary to aim for an opponent’s weak points to quickly subdue them.
“Very good. From my point of view, though, the techniques of martial artists are mere child’s play. They don’t have a thorough enough understanding of the human body. We Tuatha Dé are different. No one knows how to end a person’s life more efficiently than a doctor.”
My father came to stop in front of a massive dungeon full of prisoners.
“These are prisoners both native and foreign. All have been sentenced to death and were therefore offered to the Tuatha Dé clan as human subjects,” he explained.
“I see. No one will care if we kill these people. I can’t imagine a more useful resource than human subjects, both for medical study and for assassination.”
Truly, my family was impressive. They had used the study of medicine to improve the killing arts as well. There was no more efficient way to study both how to save lives and how to end them than by experimenting on actual living people.
Whether they’d admit it or not, I’m sure the doctors in my previous world would feel a pang of jealousy were they to hear about this. I’m sure they would like to test new medicines and surgeries on people, but they have no choice but to use guinea pigs instead. If doctors were able to use living humans for all of their experiments, medicine would be hundreds of years more advanced.
“… You don’t seem fazed by this in the slightest. I was terrified when I was brought here at your age. I even cursed my own father’s name,” said Cian.
“I do feel some reluctance, but it makes sense to me from a logical standpoint,” I replied.
“You truly are a gifted boy. To think you already possess this level of logic and reason at such a young age. As your father, I’m looking forward to seeing the kind of man you become. To commemorate this event, the task for your first lesson will be to commit murder. I would like you to kill five people. Take this knife. I’ll leave the method up to you, so kill them however you like. They’ve all been administered a muscle relaxant, so they won’t be able to put up a fight. But before you begin, I have one more question. Why do you think I’m asking you to do this?”
All I had to do was off a few people who couldn’t even fight back. Even at the age of five, that was fairly easy with a knife in my hand. I wondered if perhaps my father wanted me to memorize efficient killing techniques, but that didn’t seem like the answer.
“To get used to killing? You want me to kill people for practice so I don’t hesitate when it comes to the real thing,” I answered.
“Correct. Humans are extremely reluctant to take the lives of others. This resistance to killing is so great that soldiers sent to war will often hesitate in eliminating their targets. An acquaintance of mine in the army once told me that only one in three people are able to do what needs to be done on their first campaign.”
“Understood. I’ll get used to killing now to avoid hesitating during my first assassination.”
Without delay, I moved toward the many jailed criminals who’d been condemned to death.
“Before I kill them, I have a question,” I said.
“Go ahead,” my father urged.
“Why did you raise me to be hesitant to kill? The picture books that Mother reads to me all speak of the preciousness of life, and you’ve taught me to ‘love thy neighbor.’ These emotions will only distract from my job,” I explained.
In my previous life, my organization taught me that human lives were meaningless. As a result, I’d never once hesitated to take lives, nor had I ever felt guilty about it.
As if in opposition of their very profession, the Tuatha Dé family had raised me to hold virtuous ideals and keep a wholesome heart. These were both new to me, as I’d lacked them in my previous life.
I couldn’t help but worry that such feelings and ideals would only serve to dull my inner blade.
“If you lack a normal human value system, you’ll be incapable of understanding how other people think,” my father replied. “Knowing how to think and behave like a normal person is an essential weapon for an assassin. Also, never forget that we are people first and foremost, not tools. We don’t follow orders blindly. Only accept a job after you are sure it is in our nation’s best interest. I want you to keep that in mind. I’m raising you to become a capable assassin who can do what needs to be done, but above all else, I want you to have a heart,” Cian detailed.
“I half get it and half don’t. I’ll have to think about that,” I said in reply.
The warmth that would dull my mind would also make me stronger somehow. It seemed illogical, and yet, I could already feel changes within myself. Surely my father’s words would help me be happy. After all, I was going to live as a person this time, not a weapon.
All right, time to do what I have to do.
For the first time, I felt hesitation and guilt over killing, but even so, I didn’t run away.
This was an essential step to begin my life as Lugh Tuatha Dé.