Chapter 31

"――――ッ！？"

I woke up in agony!

Something was piercing my chest...!

"Ah!"

"Hehehe! This one's a good catch!"

"Hey, don't kill the woman!"

Yukari's scream.

There were about five men around me.

I let my guard down.

They were thieves.

"......"

I endured the intense pain without making a sound and checked my HP while lying down.

It hadn't even dropped to a fifth. Clearly, I had been stabbed through the heart with a longsword. Yet, the damage was only that much. Either the thieves' stats were abysmally low, or my stats were ridiculously high. Probably the latter.

The thieves, thinking I was already dead, completely ignored me.

Of course, it was abnormal to survive a stab to the heart. I thought so too. A stab to the back of an unguarded, exhausted traveler who had been dozing off after a series of all-nighters. There was no way I could survive. But I was alive.

...No, I'll reflect on that later. For now, I was lucky. That was enough for now.

"Did you tie her up?"

"Yeah. Let's get back quickly."

"How much do you think we'll get?"

"At the black market, 40 million CL is a safe bet."

"Hahaha! I can't stop laughing!"

The five thieves carried the bound Yukari and entered the forest in the direction opposite the sea.

Lucky! They were so blinded by the 40 million treasure that they didn't search my (dead) inventory. True, an adventurer's possessions might not be worth much, but they never imagined it could cost them their lives.

"......I can't forgive this."

This was a good opportunity.

A good opportunity to wipe them all out.

I recovered my HP with a potion and followed them into the forest.

* * *

"Ah!"

How long had it been since I last screamed like a woman?

At first, I thought it was that man attacking me again.

But it wasn't.

Several men surrounded me, tying me up with practiced hands. I couldn't resist at all. I was under a restriction that prevented me from attacking.

"Let's get back quickly."

The men carrying me entered the forest. That's when I realized they were thieves.

By the campfire, the man who had been stabbed through the chest lay on the ground.

It was so sudden... How could the man who boasted of becoming the best in the world, the one I had fought with repeatedly until yesterday, die so easily?

And me too.

After being used for their pleasure, I would be used as a sex slave and spend the rest of my life in a cesspool.

My life had started in a cesspool. Perhaps this was my fate.

...But.

......

I don't want to.

I absolutely don't want to!

I'd rather be with that man!

Why do I have to suffer like this!

Why!

I don't want to!

I don't want to!!

I don't want to!!

"What, what is it!?"

A thief shouted.

"......?"

At that moment, I felt something hot on my forehead—and then.

I remembered everything.

"You are 'Shadow' from today. Call me 'Lady' when addressing me."

"Yes, Lady Lucia."

"That's right, you're a good girl."

When I was young, when Lady Lucia stroked my head, the rings on her hand would get caught in my hair, causing a little pain.

But I loved her warm hand.

She was my master and like a mother to me.

"You understand, don't you? You have to work. You have to be useful to me. That's the only way to survive in the Aishein family."

"Yes."

"You're a good girl."

Trained by Lady Lucia's shadow unit, I became her secret right-hand woman, excelling in assassination.

I was a woman whose only talent was assassination.

And on the last day.

Her last words.

Why did I forget? I remember them well. I remember them very well...

"There you are. Let me see your forehead."

"Lady Lucia, what are you—"

"It's a charm. A charm to make you happy."

Her wrinkled smile. Her hand, adorned with many rings, gently touched my forehead.

The next moment, I lost consciousness—

—When I woke up, everything was over.

Lady Lucia was executed for plotting a rebellion.

The shadow unit was all killed.

Only I was taken in as a slave by the Maurice Trading Company and given a second chance at life.

No, I was saved. By Lady Lucia.

My respected master.

My kind mother.

That was Lady Lucia...

...

"......"

I woke up.

Ah, that's right.

I had been brainwashed.

Everything became clear.

"Ugh... cough..."

I couldn't hold back the vomit.

"Ugh! You're disgusting!"

"Ugh!"

A thief kicked my stomach. I was slammed into the wall and fell to the floor. Where was this place? A thief's hideout, perhaps.

"Hey, don't damage the valuable goods."

"It's fine, it's just her stomach."

"Then it's fine. Hahaha!"

Filth.

While writhing in pain, I recalled a distant, dreamlike past.

...Everything was a convenient delusion.

I had been stroked by Lady Lucia only once. I had distorted it to seem like a daily occurrence.

A kind smile? Lady Lucia only smiled at me once, in the last moment.

A mother-like figure? The person who turned me, an orphan, into an assassin and used me—how could I forget those harsh days of killing?

Why did she make me a slave? Why did she brainwash me? Why did I survive alone? Why? Why? Why!?

"Why! Why!!"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Are you crazy?"

Tears wouldn't stop.

I...

I...

Was never loved by anyone.

The only love I clung to was a lie.

What should I do?

What should I do!

"If you bite your tongue, it'll be a problem."

"Maybe we should gag her."

"Open your mouth, damn it!"

What should I do...

* * *

Yukari and the five thieves entered the hideout in the forest.

Two guards were at the entrance. It was unclear how many were inside. There seemed to be no back door.

I wanted to resolve this before dawn.

I drew my bow, nocked an arrow, and slowly pulled it back.

I moved to the side of the hideout and adjusted my position so the two guards were in a straight line.

"......"

Hesitation would be the end of me.

I couldn't afford to lose the promising blacksmith apprentice I had found.

I combined the techniques of *Lance Archer* and *Knight Archer*.

The moment the activation was complete, I released the arrow.

The arrow, slicing through the air with a *whoosh*, pierced the head of the first guard and blew off the neck of the second.

The two guards fell without a sound. They were definitely dead. I had killed them.

I rushed to the entrance and surveyed the inside.

"Did you hear something?"

"Should I check it out?"

I heard their conversation.

I switched my bow to a sword and pressed myself against the wall next to the door, holding my breath.

The moment the door opened and two thieves came out, I used *Silver General Sword Technique* to cut one of them diagonally.

The sound of organs spilling out filled the air.

"Wha, what!?"

The other one turned around, shouting, and I immediately used *Infantry Sword Technique* to sever his head.

It was easy.

I entered the hideout with my sword at the ready.

There were few rooms. The kitchen and storage area had no one.

In the largest room at the back, I heard many voices.

I prepared *Gold General Sword Technique* and burst through the door.

"What, what is it!?"

"Wha, what!?"

*Gold General Sword Technique* is a "range attack in all directions." The three thieves around me were blown away by the slashes, spewing blood and dying instantly.

"You, you were supposed to be dead..."

He died with a look of surprise.

There were three thieves left.

Yukari was lying on the floor with a gag, and one of the thieves was near her. The other two were charging at me with their swords.

I took two steps back diagonally to the right and activated *Bishop Sword Technique*. Its effect is a "swift and powerful piercing attack," the most valuable *Sword Technique* in combat.

The two thieves were foolishly standing in a straight line. The *Bishop Sword Technique* I swung pierced the first one's torso and cut off the second one's wrist.

"Ugh, ugh, aah!"

The thief who lost his hand panicked and screamed. I put him out of his misery with *Infantry Sword Technique*.

"Hey... what the hell are you... a monster?"

The man next to Yukari, probably the leader of the thieves, muttered.

Yukari was lying on the floor, looking at me with tears in her eyes.

There was no longer any trace of caution or hostility in her eyes.

Good! The brainwashing seems to be lifted! A stroke of luck...

"Whoa! Don't move!"

The leader drew his sword and placed it against Yukari's neck, intending to use her as a hostage.

"Hey, drop your sword!"

I complied. I raised the sword in front of my chest with both hands and let it go.

"Alright, then—"

The next moment, *Fire Attribute - First Form* hit the leader's face, causing it to burst into flames with a *whoosh*.

He was distracted by the raised sword and didn't notice the spell array at his feet, a clear sign of his stupidity.

"Ugh!?"

The sword moved away from Yukari's neck.

I finished off the leader with a *Sword Magic* technique combining *Silver General Sword Technique* and *Water Attribute - Third Form*. The leader received the thrust of the Third Form in his chest, and his torso was blown away by the water pressure. It was a two-for-one deal, as I managed to extinguish the fire on his face before it spread.

"Are you okay?"

After confirming there were no other thieves, I untied Yukari.

"......"

She lacked energy.

Her mind seemed to be elsewhere, and she was just crying.

"......Let's go. The air here is bad."

I couldn't find the right words to say, so I just said that and stood up.

Yukari followed me silently, crying.

And the morning of the fourth day arrived.

Thank you for reading.