Chapter 12

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“Alright!” I said.

Good, everything feels like it’s going well. I’ve gone through most of the common buff spells in online games, now let’s create some shields and healing magic.

“Shield!” I cried. A magic circle appeared in my right hand, a golden, diamond-like field spread out around it. I reach out to it and mutter, “Now then what you can~… huh?”

My hand is going right through it. “What is this?” I ask, exasperated.

If things can penetrate this shield so easily, then you can’t call it a shield at all! I started studying and testing it with all the intense, critical analysis of the straight man in a Japanese comedy duo to find out what this funny business was about.

“I see now…”

My Shield spell allows body parts and objects to penetrate from the back, but the other side blocks anything that tries to go through, as a shield should. It’ll prove to be quite useful in combat when you can block a monster’s attack then attack it in that same area.

It seems to be quite sensitive to my hand movements as well. By spreading my fingers open, it grows, by closing my fingers, it shrinks. If I make a fist, it’ll shut off entirely. “I have to be careful…” I muttered.

Whatever magic I could cast would mean nothing if I dispel it before it does its job.

“Well, next up: Heal!” I cried. Again, another magic circle in my hand, but now my body doesn’t glow. I’m sure it’s probably because I’m not injured and if I use it on someone who was, that person’s body would glow as their wounds healed.

“Alright!” I cheered.

I’m now certain that the most common support magic and skills from online games can be reproduced with the magic system here. Sonia will be so surprised to learn I created so many spells; I picture her usually calm, cool face looking shocked, and grin a little bit.

I chuckle and mutter, “I’m looking forward to that.”

I can’t wait for our special training tomorrow. I headed to the bathroom with a skip in my step.

It’s now past midnight. I sit on my room’s sofa, spent the past couple of hours thinking and worrying.

“Haaah~…”

No matter long I kept at it, I couldn’t decide whether to let Haru join the operation or be left behind here. If I let her join, I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect that smile; however, if we leave her behind, she might get in trouble again and I won’t be there to save her. Little wonder I was so bothered. It’s honestly become really surprising to me, just how important Haru has become.

“Hmm…~”

No more worrying, I’ll just tell Haru about the plan and let her decide whether or not she wanted to come. This way, we could teach her about how cruel this world can get while still respecting her wishes. This sounds like the best way to go about it. I quickly left my room and headed to Haru’s. I knocked before I slowly opened it, found no lights on, and Haru already asleep.

I didn’t know why, but I feel relieved.

Of course, I don’t want to wake Haru up, so I mutter, “See you later.” and quietly closed the door. I didn’t notice the sound of rustling sheets soon after.

I head to the manager’s office. “Master, it’s time,” I said through the door. “We gotta move, fast.”

Lilia came out wearing a strange, all-black outfit. According to her, it was called a “ninja uniform” worn by a hero several thousand years ago, and that its color was a very dark blue. Ah, I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end.

Lilia looks intently in the direction of the spare rooms, I ask, “Something the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing,” she replies as she started walking. “Let’s be much earlier than planned.”

In my experience, when Lilia says “nothing”, she’s doing something behind her back, but I’d never particularly cared. Last time, she just had a cookie hidden in her pockets, so this time, I decided to humor her. I didn’t know I’d later come to regret it…

“Form invisible walls/ Safe from sight and sound.”

As always, Lilia has lightning-fast chants. Just rapidly saying them out loud is easy, but simultaneously concentrating enough magic in your hand is another thing entirely. I supposed it was par for the course for one of the best Assassins in the world.

“Silence.”

We become effectively impossible for people to see or hear. Myself, I’ve never had any issues with busting down the front door, beating up everyone inside, and then just leaving without caring about the noise or them seeing my face, but Lilia says that her Assassin’s Pride meant discretion was a must.

“Master, you’re too good to sweat the little things like cleaning your room or manners and etiquette, aren’t you?” I said as we headed out of the Grand Library.

“That I am,” Lilia replied. “I’m glad you’re beginning to understand that.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

We go through a series of dimly lit alleys. Lilia always forces me to run, but for some reason, today was an exception. We slowed down much more as we went back to the main road near the site of tonight’s mission:

The assassination of the gang boss who controls this town from the shadows.

Lilia hadn’t been able to do it alone, which is why I was here in the first place. “Right, we have arrived,” she said.

“We’re pretty close to their hideout, huh?” I asked.

Lilia nodded. “On another, related note,” she turned around and called out, “Haru, you may come out now!”

“… Huh…?” I ask. “This is all a bad joke,” I think as I take a look.

“Ah, looks like you knew I was here after all, huh~?” Haru says with a sheepish smile.

I now know why Lilia’s behavior has been so off today. I knew she’d always been a schemer, but I still thought that she could consider other’s feelings. It seemed that I was thinking far too highly of her.

“Master…” I said as my body shook, I smiled as I made a fist, “so you knew all this time, huh? Clench your teeth.”

“Please wait a moment, Sonia!” Lilia cried. “I can explain! I thought there might be enemies at the Grand Library, so I had Haru come out here with us instead!”

Nothing she said could soothe my anger nor stop my fist from going into her solar plexus. I turned around and said, “Haru, let’s talk for a little while.”

I explained to her the operation, that we were going straight into their hideout to murder the boss, and that things would get very ugly, very soon, especially for someone like Haru who barely had any combat experience.

Then, with a determined look in her eyes, Haru said: “I’m… coming too.”

“Ah, as expected of Sonia’s party member!” Lilia said despite the punch earlier. She’s as much of a monster as ever.

“Well… let’s go,” Haru said.

What had all my hours of worrying and thinking at the Grand Library been for? I was full of conflicting, confusing emotions I couldn’t put a name to.

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