Chapter 78

Judging it dangerous to turn his back, Rio drew his sword and slowly retreated backward.

"Up!"

He gave the order to Shiraha without calling her name. The path was narrow, with two-story stone buildings on either side. Given that it was a one-way street, it was unlikely that reinforcements would come from behind Rio and his companions, but being caught in a pincer attack would be disastrous.

Shiraha channeled magic power into the magic array carved on the hilt of her sword, activating a spell that raised the ground beneath her feet, gaining altitude in an instant. The group with the white masks was slightly taken aback by Shiraha’s immediate spellcasting. Given that the Hornedra Familia, which possessed many divine and cursed artifacts, had its base in Sun Ankh May, they likely suspected that Shiraha’s custom-made sword might be a divine artifact.

Taking a step back, Rio observed the group with white masks. There were five of them, all wearing white masks, but their weapons were not uniform. Each had a sword, but the lengths and designs varied, and their stances suggested different schools of swordsmanship. The one who had ordered them to kill Rio and his companions was probably the boss. His stance was quite relaxed but seemed to be from the Ox school.

It’s unusual for bandits to be trained in such a peculiar school of swordsmanship, Rio thought, maintaining his guard while judging that he had taken sufficient distance. He signaled to Shiraha, who was on the roof.

Receiving the signal, Shiraha activated one of the magic arrays on her sword’s scabbard, creating a smoke screen in the alley. Although hastily prepared, the smoke screen was thin enough that one could still see through it, but it was sufficient to momentarily halt their movements.

Immediately after the smoke screen was deployed, Rio kicked the wall of a house, grabbed the iron bars of a window, and used the rain gutter as a foothold to jump onto the roof. Arriving on the roof with a forward roll, Rio quickly surveyed the area.

"There it is. Let’s go!"

Calling out to Shiraha, Rio started running across the roofs. Their destination was a building with a red roof visible in the distance, which was likely the Adventurers' Guild.

While running towards the Adventurers' Guild, Rio looked down at the alley. The group with white masks, unable to move as nimbly as Rio and his companions, was still running in the alley. They couldn’t throw anything at Rio and his companions because the eaves and overhangs blocked their line of sight. There were no other groups or allies of the white-masked individuals in the vicinity.

Although the white-masked group seemed familiar with the area, their knowledge of the geography was irrelevant to Rio and his companions, who could see everything from the roofs.

Just as Rio was relieved that they could escape, the white-masked group seemed to give up. The boss-like figure called out, and the group turned and ran back down the alley. Shiraha looked at Rio.

"What do we do?"

"We’ll head straight to the Adventurers' Guild. We should report that we witnessed a murder."

Regardless of the circumstances, an incident is an incident. If they didn’t report it, they might be killed to keep them quiet.

Running across the roofs, Rio and his companions arrived at a house in front of the Adventurers' Guild. The adventurers in front of the guild had their hands on their weapons, ready for combat.

"Who are you? If you don’t stop, we’ll kill you without hesitation!"

Thinking, "What kind of town is this?" Rio raised his hands to show he meant no harm.

"We are adventurers who traveled from Rihelran. We stumbled upon a murder scene and were chased by a group with white masks, so we ran here on the roofs."

"…What are your ranks and names?"

"Rank D, I’m Rio, and this is Shiraha."

"Rank D, huh? It’s quite a stroke of luck for a Rank D to escape from the white masks."

Rio bristled at the sarcastic tone. Lowering his hands, he had no other way to prove his innocence. If they didn’t lower their guard, he would have to be prepared for a fight.

Lowering his hands, the adventurer drew his sword. Seeing the adventurer’s stance, Rio called out.

"Do you know Mr. Yebus, the deputy instructor of the Miruto School in the town of Sufan?"

"…What?"

The adventurer was slightly taken aback, realizing that his stance had been recognized.

"I’m from the same village as Karil, who caused trouble at the dojo."

"…Hah."

The adventurer laughed, lowered his stance, and sheathed his sword.

"My apologies. The branch chief was killed a few days ago, so we’re on high alert. I know about Karil. In fact, I once fought him. By the way, I won."

It seemed they had lowered their guard. Rio and Shiraha were prompted to descend from the roof. The adventurers whistled in admiration as Rio and Shiraha landed silently.

The adventurer opened the guild’s entrance and called out.

"It seems there was a murder by the white-masked group. We need to examine the scene."

Immediately, one of the staff members rushed out from behind the counter, and another adventurer party stood up. Their smooth movements indicated that such incidents were a daily occurrence.

"Can you guide us to the scene?"

Asked to do so, Rio and Shiraha led the staff back along the path they had taken. They remembered the way, even though they had run on the roofs. As they headed to the scene with Rio and Shiraha in the lead, the staff member asked several questions about the incident, such as the number and build of the white-masked individuals, their weapons, the condition of the victim, and the surrounding situation. However, since it had all happened in an instant, Rio and Shiraha couldn’t provide detailed answers.

"…It’s around here."

Arriving at the scene, Rio pointed to the alley, puzzled. The white-masked group and even the body had vanished.

The staff and adventurers looked around.

"Looks like we’re too late again."

"Don’t worry, kid. We don’t doubt that a murder happened here."

One of the adventurers said to Rio, tapping the ground with his toe.

"The bloodstains have been cleaned up with magic. That’s the white-masked group’s modus operandi."

"Rather, the kids should be grateful to the white masks."

"Grateful? They tried to kill us."

Frowning, Rio didn’t see any reason to be grateful to such a group. The staff member chuckled.

"The victim was probably an external collaborator of the Hornedra Familia. The Hornedra Familia has a cursed artifact that curses anyone present at the murder scene through the victim’s blood. If the blood hadn’t been washed away, you would have been cursed too."

"…They treat life too lightly."

"That’s just how this town is."

The staff member laughed in resignation at Rio’s dismay.