Chapter 7
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“What? That wasn't as bad as I expected.”
“I-I guess not...”
No, that's because you people are way beyond the level of ordinary students.
Elijah thought as she looked around. The armed thugs sprawled across the floor were groaning.
Judging by their skill, they had clearly spent years making a living by the sword, so it made no sense for academy students to have subdued them.
‘Of course, there are people who don't even compare to them...’
With a wry smile, she turned her gaze to the side. There, someone who'd taken down twice as many as everyone else combined had quietly sheathed her sword.
Even the other students, who'd easily handled the assassins, looked at her with something close to fear and awe.
That was probably a perfectly reasonable reaction to someone who'd subdued this many people without even drawing her sword.
The finest swordsmanship family on the continent. And among them, a duke's daughter hailed as the greatest talent in their history.
The swordsmanship practiced by someone like that was an art that even Elijah, who'd been through more than her fair share, couldn't help but admire.
‘How many people on the continent could even imitate that?’
Tristan-style Swordsmanship was an advanced technique said to be so difficult that merely imitating it put you in the realm of genius. If mastered, it could unleash absurd power with any weapon, shattering common sense.
People even said you could kill someone with nothing but a stick in your hand.
“...?”
As that thought crossed her mind, something suddenly caught Elijah's eye.
Elnore's hand was trembling.
She looked as though she were desperately holding something back.
From the perspective of a seasoned swordswoman,
she looked as if she were itching to ‘kill’ someone.
Her whole body seemed to be screaming that she wanted to draw her sword and kill something this instant.
“...”
As a chill crept over her skin, Elijah fell silent for a moment. Elnore noticed her gaze, subtly hid her hand behind her back, and spoke.
“...It seems we've subdued them all.”
It was clearly a signal not to bring up what she'd just seen, and Elijah decided to go along with it for now.
If she provoked Elnore in her current state, a sword might really come flying at her with murderous intent.
“Yes. We should turn them all over to the academy, and—”
Elijah's voice cut off abruptly.
She'd spotted a blue jewel flashing on the body of an assassin groaning on the floor.
A short-range communication device. She'd seen one a few times during hunts for magical beasts.
In other words, there were still people in this building besides these men who could send them a ‘message.’
“—maybe not.”
With a wry smile, she walked over to one of the assassins.
“Excuse me, are there more of your people here besides the ones we've captured?”
“...”
When the assassin silently glared at her, Elijah smiled wryly to herself.
Right, as if he'd answer that easily—
—!
Before she could finish the thought,
there was a crack, and the assassin's arm broke.
“...!”
The soundless scream made it easy to imagine just how much pain he was in.
Elijah turned to the side, dumbfounded. Elnore, who'd just snorted, was hanging the scabbard she'd swung back on her belt.
“If you don't answer, I'll break your neck next.”
“...”
“Hmm. No, that wasn't quite the right thing to say.”
At Elnore's words, even Elijah, who'd been staring at her in disbelief, let out a bemused laugh.
Right. Even so, casually saying something that vicious out of nowhere was a bit much...
“If none of you speak, I'll break every one of your necks.”
“...”
A heavy silence settled around them.
She spoke as calmly as if she were simply stating a fact, but that only made everyone feel all the more certain that she might actually do it.
It was obvious from the way one of the others began stammering in place of the assassin with the broken arm.
Elnore listened to the nervous account, then gave a small, impassive nod.
“I see. Hasmed of the Crescent Moon. An assassin who kills people and steals their appearance, was it?”
After hearing that, Elnore remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Is that assassin here with you now?”
“What?”
“Answer the question. Is he in this building with you?”
“...I can't tell you that right now—”
The assassin stopped mid-sneer.
Anyone would if they suddenly realized that one of their arms had been sliced off by a sword.
Elnore had drawn her sword and cut it off in an instant.
“A-aaargh—!”
As the assassin screamed, blood spraying everywhere while the pain finally hit him, Elnore grabbed him by the collar without even wiping the blood splashed across her face.
Her red eyes glinted menacingly in the dim surroundings.
“Is that assassin here?”
“A-aaargh—!”
“If you don't answer, I'll cut off the other one.”
“H-he's here! He came with us!”
As soon as she heard that, Elnore threw the screaming assassin to the floor.
Then, leaving all the students standing there in stunned silence, she dashed off.
“Wait! What the hell are you doing?!”
Breaking his arm and ‘threatening’ him was one thing, but drawing a real sword and cutting off part of his body was another matter entirely.
Right now, Elnore looked as if
hearing that Hasmed was here had completely changed her personality.
When Elijah hurried after her and asked, Elnore sighed before answering.
“I needed an answer quickly. He should still be alive. There should be medical supplies nearby.”
“...”
Still, who would do something like that without a second thought?
“Why would you go that far...?”
“They said he kills people and steals their appearance. Then who would be the easiest target for him in this building?”
Elijah was at a loss for words.
Come to think of it, there was one person.
The one who'd gone off alone, claiming it was ‘necessary.’
“...I hope I'm wrong, but...”
Elijah spoke in a stiff voice.
“Did that person use themself as bait to lure the strongest opponent over there?”
If she thought about it logically, that was obviously just speculation.
There was no way that person could've known an assassin like that was coming. And even if, giving them every benefit of the doubt, they had known, there'd be no reason to risk their own life doing something so dangerous—
—I quite like her.
“...”
—though there could be, if they said so.
This assassination attempt was clearly aimed at the Tristan heiress, after all.
And Elnore, who remained silent with her lips pressed together, seemed to agree with Elijah.
“We should go over there and make sure.”
“Why are you going this far? What exactly are the two of you...?”
“...I told you, we're nothing to each other.”
Elnore said that.
“At least, as far as I know.”
But unlike before,
her voice now sounded as though even she wasn't sure.
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Honestly, no matter how I looked at it, it was hard to consider Elphante Academy a normal educational institution.
It was already common knowledge, even among outsiders, that the place was full of things no ordinary school would ever have.
The school was so old and mysterious that all kinds of ‘paranormal phenomena’ supposedly occurred there.
Secret rooms hidden in various places, ghosts that appeared at certain times, a particular building said to house a legendary divine beast...
Hasmed was already well acquainted with such things, too.
He'd heard of several thousand of them, give or take, and had long since memorized every last one.
In any case, he was a professional assassin with a fair amount of renown in the business. If he couldn't put in even this much effort, he wouldn't deserve that reputation.
And so,
when the arm he extended with a hidden weapon in hand met a translucent blue ‘barrier,’ he couldn't help but be stunned.
‘The Guardian's Spirit...!’
A defensive barrier meant to make its occupants impervious to attack. It greatly reduced the power of weapons wielded by attackers within its designated area.
It was famous for appearing without warning in certain buildings, though both the time and location were random.
But why on earth had it appeared here?
As he wondered, the student in front of him approached, holding a stick.
‘Foolish!’
Hasmed snorted and immediately dropped his hidden weapon to the floor.
Even with a barrier that weakened weapons, a sufficiently trained assassin could become a weapon in their own right. And Hasmed was among the very best of them.
So what could someone do with a mere stick like that? Especially with a frail body that clearly hadn't trained in any kind of combat technique?
That was what he thought.
At least, until the first blow landed.
-!
-!!
A storm of consecutive strikes swept over him in an instant.
Struck in vital spots all over his body before he could even blink, Hasmed let out a scream he couldn't suppress.
But the shock to his mind was even greater than the physical pain.
‘I can't even follow the trajectory...!’
There were few sword styles on the continent whose source even a master assassin like him couldn't discern.
And if a technique could unleash this much power without even using a real sword!
‘Tristan-style Swordsmanship!’
Why hadn't he recognized the skill of someone capable of using this?
‘...!’
Suddenly, an insight flashed through his mind like lightning.
This guy—if his guess was right—
‘was someone he should never have messed with in the first place...!’
As he collapsed helplessly, that was all Hasmed could manage to think.
●
[ You have successfully performed a sword technique! ]
[ Trait: Tristan-style Swordsmanship proficiency has increased. ]
“...”
What the hell is this?
Why is it so strong?
I stared at Hasmed, sprawled on the floor, in disbelief.
Honestly, even if it was Tristan-style Swordsmanship, I only had basic proficiency, so I hadn't expected much. I never thought a few swings would be enough to take down someone like Hasmed.
This guy was strong enough to become a mid-boss during the main quest, you know?
He was an assassin well-known enough in the underworld that just mentioning his name carried some weight.
‘...How strong will this get when I raise it all the way?’
I knew the swordsmanship used by the final boss would be powerful, but I hadn't expected it to be this strong.
My plan in the first place was just to buy some time, then run off to get help, wasn't it?
“...Ha. I see. So I was bait from the start.”
So, yeah. When the guy lying in front of me started spouting things like this, I couldn't help being taken aback.
What the hell is he talking about?
“I don't know how you did it, but you knew the Guardian's Spirit would activate here. That's why you chose a stick as your weapon from the beginning.”
That's because it's a game system.
At the ‘save points’ found in every building, you can't fight using weapons. That's why I lured him here.
“And you hid your skill from the start so you could use that method to lure me in. That's why you left the group on purpose, too. To draw me away from the Tristan heiress.”
“...”
No, I didn't.
I was actually going to buy some time, then run over there and ask them to save me.
[ Skill: Fatal Charm activated! ]
[ The villain is in awe of your meticulous plan! ]
[ A reward has been added to the Gift tab! ]
“...”
What meticulous plan?
My meticulous plan was to buy some time, run away, and scream for them to please help me?
Has the whole world forgotten what ‘meticulous’ means?
“Who are you, you bastard? Were you raised in advance by House Tristan? Or are you an agent of the Empire's central intelligence agency?”
“...”
I used to raise cattle and farm on a baron's estate.
“I see you have no intention of answering. Fine. Kill me.”
“...I have no intention of killing you.”
“You won't kill me? Why not?”
My words seemed to have shocked him so much that Hasmed asked back, eyes wide.
Because I don't particularly want to kill anyone.
‘To begin with...’
He's a member of the ‘Wanderers,’ the criminal organization central to the third chapter of the scenario.
If I messed with him carelessly, who knew what effect it might have on the main scenario? And the Wanderers would obviously come after me for revenge.
But...
‘I shouldn't tell him that outright.’
So I tried to come up with a suitable excuse.
What would be the best thing to tell him...?
Ah, right.
“Spread the word. Tell them to stay away from the Tristan heiress. Say that even an assassin of your caliber nearly died when he tried to mess with her.”
I didn't know who'd hired him, but anyone who'd pull a stunt like this during an academy event was probably completely insane.
Which meant that even if this attempt failed, they'd likely try again somehow.
And that would probably
keep adding to Elnore's ‘corruption’ stack.
In other words, it would make it more and more likely that the gray demon would be unleashed.
So I was trying to nip those attempts in the bud.
Hasmed was an assassin with some renown, at least. If he did something like that, wouldn't the others be less willing to take jobs against her, too?
“...”
Hasmed's expression turned strange at my words.
“What will you do if I don't keep that promise? If I go back like this, I could go after the Tristan heiress again.”
I didn't think he would, actually.
Considering what the ‘Wanderers’ were like in the original, that was certainly true. They weren't the sort to disobey someone who'd spared their lives.
They were criminals who valued honor to an absurd degree, enough to stake their lives on it.
But let's talk big here.
“Go ahead and try again, then.”
I continued with a smirk.
“I'll be there to protect her next time, too.”
“...Is the Tristan heiress that precious to you?”
“You could say that.”
I couldn't be bothered to explain in detail, so I'd just give him a vague answer.
For some reason, he even seemed to hold me in awe, so if I said this, he'd probably understand well enough...
[ Skill: Fatal Charm activated! ]
[ The skill's activation efficiency is exceptionally high! ]
[ The villain's favorability has increased significantly! ]
[ The villain's favorability has increased significantly! ]
[ The villain's favorability has increased insanely! ]
[ The villain's favorability... ]
“...”
What the hell is this?
As soon as I finished speaking, a deluge of notifications flooded my vision, and I broke into a cold sweat.
Uh.
No way.
“...”
I turned my head slightly and saw Elnore at the end of the corridor, staring at me with wide eyes.
It was obvious she'd heard everything I'd just said.
“...”
“...”
This is bad.
For some reason, I had a feeling it was.
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