Chapter 33

Using the rope borrowed from Elsa, I tied up the men and placed them in the center of the room to keep an eye on them.

Well, since I’m using a rope binding technique that is rarely used in our school, no one can escape unless they have a good understanding of how to slip out of ropes.

Incidentally, this technique is designed to leave a gap that allows the person to escape, but to do so, they must dislocate several of their ankle joints.

In other words, it’s a rather reasonable technique that aims to inflict damage and then let the person escape, so you can chase them and capture the hidden enemy base in one fell swoop.

"These people, why are they gathered in the center?"

"To keep an eye on them. They are important witnesses. Depending on the opponent’s moves, we can’t take our eyes off them for various reasons."

From the way those guys responded, I can safely assume that the young nobleman is unlikely to move to rescue these people.

However, it’s still unclear how the nobleman will act.

Whether it’s a rescue or a disposal, in any case, leaving the current situation as it is would be a blow to the noble family, so it’s highly likely they will take some action.

It’s troublesome, but I have to protect these people until I hand them over to the knights.

Rino is already on her way to the knights.

Even if we are attacked and die on the way, the resurrection point will be the stone monument in this town.

It would actually be a shorter distance to move from here.

We should be the first foreigners to appear in this capital, so they don’t have much information on foreigners yet.

In the current situation, it’s unlikely that communication with the knights will be completely cut off.

Assuming that’s not a problem—

"These people are fine to watch, but what about the gate?"

"It’s fine. With more targets to watch, it would be a bad move to spread our already limited numbers. In exchange, I won’t hold back any longer."

Currently, all the remaining members are gathered in this room.

It’s the same living room as last time, but the tables and other furniture have been moved to the side to avoid getting in the way.

The windows are locked and the curtains are drawn to prevent anyone from seeing inside.

The same applies to the other rooms. The most frightening thing in this situation is a surprise attack from an unexpected direction, so I want to avoid giving the enemy the initiative as much as possible.

While there are several ways to gather information from outside, the inability to rely on visual information should work to our advantage to some extent.

Well, according to my prediction, there should be some movement soon—

"Big brother, they’re here. Three of them, they look like lightly armed thieves."

"―! Well done, you managed to get back to the room before they entered."

"Got it!"

Nodding to Kuu’s voice over the chat, I lifted the katana I had already drawn.

The room is spacious enough to swing it without any trouble.

Ignoring the trembling private soldiers who saw me move the katana, I called out to Elsa.

"Cover Lillina’s eyes. There’s no room for holding back this time."

"...Understood."

No matter how strong the enemy is, with so many people to protect, there’s no room for holding back.

If it were just a one-on-one fight, I might be able to subdue them, but I can’t risk being counterattacked by leaving them alive.

Therefore, this time, I will kill them. I won’t allow any unnecessary interference. As I quietly resolved, Kuu, who had been monitoring the surroundings from the roof, returned to the room.

"I’m back!"

"Thank you. Your next task is to guard Lillina and the others. Be careful of stray attacks."

"Got it!"

"Kuu-chan? Don’t forget, I’m the leader."

Smiling wryly at Kuu’s straightforwardness, I narrowed my eyes and focused my mind.

With my honed and sharpened five senses, I absorbed as much information as possible from the wider area.

This is also one of the techniques of the Eternal Divine Flow, but it’s a method to control one’s own body, not to defeat the enemy.

Thanks to this technique, I could clearly sense the presence of the three people approaching.

It’s been a while since I spread my senses this wide, but it seems to work fine in this game world, which is a relief.

"They’re coming in through the back door. They must understand that we are on guard because the curtains are closed."

"...Why can you tell?"

"Their presence."

While responding succinctly to Mica’s question, I probed the movement of the presence I had sensed.

The intruders, who had picked the lock on the back door, were slowly moving through the house.

Their steps were cautious, as if they were probing. They probably haven’t noticed our position yet.

We could have taken the initiative, but it’s too late to change our strategy now.

It’s best to wait and counterattack.

(They’re skilled. They’re not in the same league as those private soldiers... So, are they the nobleman’s personal subordinates?)

It’s unlikely they belong to a different faction. If he had such capable subordinates, he would have used them from the beginning.

The reason he didn’t is probably because the young nobleman didn’t have the authority to mobilize them.

Whether it’s a rescue or a cover-up, the latter would be quite troublesome, but it depends on the opponent’s moves.

As their presence approached the room, it paused. It seems they have also sensed our presence.

"They’re coming soon."

"Y-Yes."

Informing Mica and the others, I moved silently towards the presence.

They seem to be coming in through the door.

Well, there are no other entrances from inside the house, so that’s natural.

I adjusted the katana to the Kasumi stance and, as the lock clicked open, I slipped forward.

The next moment, the door was kicked open, and the tip of my katana pierced the forehead of the man standing in front of it.

"Gah, gah—?"

"First one down."

Kicking the dead man’s body to free the katana, I leaped back.

I would prefer to fight in the hallway, but it’s a bit difficult with a katana that’s not very maneuverable.

As I repositioned my katana, the remaining two rushed into the room.

They didn’t seem shaken by their companion’s death. Raising my estimation of their abilities, I charged at the intruder heading towards the private soldiers.

"I’ll leave the other one to you!"

"Understood!"

While entrusting the one heading towards Lillina to Mica and the others, I approached the intruder smoothly.

Their target being the private soldiers rather than me made it clear that their aim was assassination.

I don’t know if they have a way to kill four people at once, but I can’t let them get close.

The intruder, sensing my approach, immediately reacted by throwing a knife.

The blade, likely poisoned, was deflected by my katana and fell to the ground.

Surprised by my quick reaction, the intruder’s eyes widened slightly.

They are skilled, but stopping their movement at this moment is not a good move.

"―Parry!"

The intruder, holding a dagger, activated a skill.

It’s a choice made because evasion is less effective indoors.

However, against me, it’s a bad move.

Sword technique—Stiff Form, Bamboo Separation.

The blade that was swung down was pressed against the dagger held out to guard.

Trying to deflect the dagger is futile.

Once the vertical motion is caught, there’s no way to escape this pressure.

"Ooh!"

"Ga—!?"

Cutting through the dagger, I drove the blade into the assassin’s body.

The man, slashed diagonally, stumbled and was decapitated by a return strike.

Confirming that he was dead, I turned my gaze to the other one.

He was being held back by Mica and Kuu. Akebia stood in front of Lillina, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

The situation is stable, but assassins can have unexpected tricks up their sleeves.

Footwork—Raging Shock.

With a sound like an explosion at my feet, I charged at the assassin.

Distracted by the sound, the intruder’s attention shifted to me, causing a momentary stiffness.

If it were my students, they would have taken him down in that instant.

But it’s too much to expect that from civilian children. I thrust the tip of my blade at the man.

Sword technique—Stiff Form, Piercing Fang.

The thrust, with my weight behind it, pierced the man’s armor like paper and penetrated his body.

The shock of being impaled by someone who appeared from a distance must have been great.

Knowing the wall behind him was wooden, I drove the blade through and pinned him to the wall, then released the katana and drew a wakizashi.

There were no other enemy presences around, so this should be all of them.

Holding the wakizashi to his throat, I released a killing intent and asked.

"You’re from the noble family. Why are you trying to silence them?"

"..."

The man, sweating from the pain, remained silent.

His mental fortitude is impressive, given the severity of his wound. He must be a trained professional.

However, that makes dealing with him troublesome. After all, we don’t have any torture tools here.

Sighing, I placed my left hand on his chest and spoke.

"Was this on the orders of Count Feave?"

"..."

No response. But this was an expected question.

Well, if the young nobleman can only mobilize such low-level people, the trained assassins must be mobilized by the head of the family or someone close to him.

This question is a bluff to create a gap in his mind.

The real question is the next one.

"Is the count involved with demons?"

"―!?"

The man’s chest trembled. His diaphragm and limbs showed signs of shock and tension.

This question was more than just a guess—it was more like a wild hypothesis, but his reaction is significant.

The fact that even a low-level subordinate was ordered to kill to cover up suggests that the count has something he doesn’t want exposed.

Considering the earlier question about why the young nobleman knew about Schreid’s death, this is one of the possibilities I had in mind—

"If it’s true, that’s treason against the country—no, against humanity."

"―..."

The assassin’s jaw moved slightly at my words.

Sighing slightly, I stepped back.

Considering the possibility of hidden needles, it’s probably not the case.

The moment I stepped back, the man twitched and then slumped, becoming motionless.

Despite the extraordinary pain from being impaled, he showed no reaction.

Sighing, I pulled the blade out and checked his pulse, but the result was as expected. He had just ingested poison.

"...Troublesome. I didn’t expect them to have such well-trained assassins."

"Kuon... That person...?"

"Yes, he committed suicide. Not many can do this without hesitation."

Sighing, I stored the man’s body in my inventory.

Elsa was still covering Lillina’s eyes. The bodies needed to be disposed of quickly.

After disposing of the other two bodies and confirming that everything was in order, I called out.

"Elsa, it’s okay now."

"Could you also clean up the blood...?"

"I’m not that omnipotent."

Elsa shrugged and released her hands from Lillina’s eyes.

Lillina, regaining her vision, blinked a few times to adjust to the light and then gasped at the blood-stained living room.

It must have been quite a shock, even if it was unavoidable.

"This...?"

"Sorry, I should have used a less bloody technique."

"No, no. You protected us, so I won’t complain."

Lillina seemed calmer without the bodies.

Well, as a woman, she must be used to seeing blood.

"Anyway, what do we do now?"

"Basically, we wait. Well—"

Shrugging, I moved to the window and peeked outside by slightly opening the curtain.

No one seemed to be watching us, but a conspicuous group was approaching the gate.

It’s not surprising that they haven’t noticed us yet, given the attention they’re drawing.

"Since the knights are here, it looks like we won’t have a boring wait."

■Avatar Name: Kuon

■Gender: Male

■Race: Human

■Level: 13

■Status (Remaining Status Points: 0)

STR: 16

VIT: 14

INT: 16

MND: 14

AGI: 12

DEX: 12

■Skills

Weapon Skill: Katana: Lv.13

Magic Skill: Enhancement Magic: Lv.10

Set Skill: Death Strike: Lv.11

MP Auto Recovery: Lv.6

Plundering Sword: Lv.8

Identification: Lv.10

Life Sword: Lv.9

Demon Slaying Sword: Lv.4

Tame: Lv.3

HP Auto Recovery: Lv.5

Sub Skill: Mining: Lv.1

Title Skill: Fairy’s Blessing

■Current SP: 8

■Monster Name: Lumina

■Gender: Female

■Race: Fairy

■Level: 7

■Status (Remaining Status Points: 0)

STR: 4

VIT: 7

INT: 22

MND: 16

AGI: 14

DEX: 9

■Skills

Weapon Skill: None

Magic Skill: Light Magic

Skill: Light Attribute Enhancement

Flight

Magic Resistance: Medium

MP Auto Recovery

Title Skill: Servant of the Fairy Queen