Chapter 25: Rapid Development

Opening the door revealed the living room’s light was still on, which served as a reminder of the room’s antiquity and even quaintness.

“Oh, welcome backー”

“Why are you always showing up here like it’s a standard part of your life…”

In the living room of Matthias’ house, Xenia and Matthias were playing a card game. These guys really had a bond with each other, didn’t they?

“T-Teacher Kanaki. Good evening. Um, would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Oh, Eto… thank you.”

Eto’s cordiality was irresistible right now, as her voice hailed me from the kitchen.

Seated on a cushion on the diagonal of the table from Xenia and company, a wide exhalation of breath escaped me, accompanied by my fingers rubbing the corners of my eyes.

“It looks like you had a rough time of it. So, is the little Princess alive?”

“Her condition is not critical. On the way to the hospital, I administered first aid to her too.”

Xenia’s knowledge of the event that transpired only a short time ago already came as no shock to me. In any case, her presence here now was probably brought about by that story.

“Kanaki, you already went the extra mile. Had the Princess died as a result of that, it would have spared us all the time and trouble.”

“In the company of Fina, I can’t simply abandon her to the brink of death. Fina may have put herself in danger if I hadn’t intervened to the rescue.”

Right after Karen was shot, Fina was deeply distraught and was in no condition to engage in a proper fight. Apart from my own hands, I would not allow her to be killed by some unknown assassin, even if I wanted her dead.

“…So, did you catch a glimpse of this assailant or whatever?”

Silence had been the dominant feature of Matthias’ bearing up until then as his lips parted with words flowing out. With his back upright, Matthias was sitting up straight, but his gaze was locked on the cards in his hand.

“Regrettably, no… But from what I have heard, the assailant was wielding Golems, maneuvering pieces of the destroyed Golems, and above all, shot out an invisible arrow.”

“Invisible arrow?”

Xenia remarked as she took a card from Matthias.

“Yes. They engraved ‘Invisible’ technique on an iron arrow, rendering it obscure, before releasing it.”

Furthermore, that alone would be detected, if not sighted, by the magical power that activated “Invisible”.

Hence, the assailant first went on the offense with the Golems and subsequently assaulted Fina and company by operating the broken pieces, thereby augmenting the density of magical power within the perimeter. From a distance, it was apparent that Karen had executed some kind of grand move. With that degree of magic discharged, the residue of magical power would have lingered in the environment in droves, and with “Invisible” magic covering a single bow and arrow, hardly anyone would have picked up on it.

Having spoken that much, Xenia, who had cleared away the cards, chimed in.

“Heh. That strikes me as being how you, Kanaki, operate. That cunning conduct. I wonder if you actually were the one who attacked them, Kanaki.”

“No, no, no. Even I would not dare to conduct an attack on Her Highness the Princess with that level of preliminary arrangements. Especially if I failed at attacking her once, the second time will be extremely arduous. The opponent seemed to have given it a fair amount of thought, but at the end of the road, they are only a second-rate player.”

“Hmm. How unusual. For you to be that irritated, Kanaki.”

“Irritated? Me?”

“Yes. Aren’t you conscious of it?”

“…No, you’re right. Indeed, this may be irritation.”

It felt like viscous wrath, like a coagulated magma simmering in the pit of my stomach. Such an emotion had been lost on me after all these years that I had forgotten about it. Even when things turned unsavory, mere melancholy was all I experienced in everyday times…

“―’Hunter’.”

“What?”

An egregiously inorganic voice pierced my ears right then.

Matthias spoke again, almost in a whisper, after moistening his mouth with the coffee Eto had handed him.

”’Hunter’. Taking all the pieces of information you just disclosed, it was probably the work of an assassin called ‘Hunter’. I thought he had relocated his base out of town since he has been not so active as of recent, but it would appear that he is back on the move.”

“‘Hunter’…”

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From the usual shelf, I pulled out the wanted posters and flipped through them. Xenia then peeked over my shoulder, with her chin on my shoulder, too, so I repositioned the wanted posters for her to have a better view of them.

“Ah, this one.”

My attention was drawn to a page as Xenia’s pale finger landed there.

“Hunter” Keith Ackerman, Rate A+.

“A+, huh? That’s one of the top tiers in the city.”

“I mean, I suppose you guys are the only wanted people in this city who are rated S or above…”

Xenia exhaled through her nose as if to scoff at him, but anybody who was a wanted person with a rating of A or above would be of exceptional ability in the first place. While individual differences did of course exist, it was generally expected that a rate A person would be a second-class magician or higher, and a rate S person would be a semi-first-class magician or superior, and it was recommended that several people be sent to deal with such a wanted person. A rating of A denoted a high level of expertise.

One of the most actively wanted people among them was “Hunter,” whose identity was known. Formerly from the hunting tribe of the Republic of Norun in the east, he came to this country as a soldier of Kingdom of Ortesia at the age of 18, where his prowess was regarded in high esteem. In his youth, as a brilliant young man, he achieved breathtaking accomplishments on the front lines against demons with his skill with a bow and magic, but at the age of 25, he abruptly left the corps and went missing… He became a professional assassin and it wasn’t long before he was on the wanted list.

Having read the lengthy remarks section, in which his major war achievements (also known as his criminal record) were written, I quietly folded the wanted posters.

“…So you’re implying that this guy is one of the brutes out there…”

“…Well, if you broadly put it that way, yeah.”

“That means he’s in the same category as us, right?”

To a concurring Xenia, it took me by surprise.

“Ms. Xenia… you have self-consciousness that you are a scum of humanity, I see.”

“Why are you being so startled!? And you didn’t even have to state that far!”

“Since you are Ms. Xenia, I thought you would be justifying yourself with another wondrous theory…”

Xenia was still grumbling about something, but I dismissed her. Before I knew it, a cup of coffee was in my hand, and I sipped it.

“Thanks a lot, Eto. I didn’t notice it at all.”

“Since you were intensely concentrating on reading, I tried not to interfere. Um… Ms. Fina and Her Royal Highness Princess are…?”

“Karen doesn’t appear to be at any immediate risk of dying, and Fina is not particularly injured.”

“I see…”

Eto momentarily dropped her gaze while swaying her bangs.

“By the way, Mr. Matthias. What are your plans now?”

Xenia changed the subject.

“Today’s events will surely lead to some kind of escort attached to the Princess. Nobles abound in this city, but with royalty, the bodyguards are likely to be uniformly competent. While the captain of the Royal Knights is unlikely to show up, it would be a bit daunting if Bades, the captain of the Imperial Guards, or someone like that, were to be on the scene, don’t you think?”

“…”

Even Matthias was driven to contemplation by Xenia’s words.

That was no wonder. If anything, the fact that Karen, the Princess, had not been accompanied by an official escort until now was out of place. That was why there emerged individuals who strove to capitalize on this opportunity to eliminate her, as was the case tonight. But now that the assassination attempt had been foiled, it was no exaggeration to claim that the eradication of the Princess itself was no longer conceivable. Perhaps by tomorrow night, Karen will be protected by a skilled escort dispatched from the royal capital. That would simultaneously signify the entrance of another outstanding individual in the city, and frankly speaking, it might be the ideal timing for me too. Last month, I was finally on the wanted list, and the opportunity to move to a new base of operations was not a terrible fit.

However, despite my rational judgment, I was still subtly amazed to realize that I was about to override that conclusion. I have apparently already developed a bit of an attachment to this city.

“―There is no cancellation of the request.”

Matthias too appeared to be clinging to the same sentiments.

“No matter how late you estimate it, the escort from the royal capital will undoubtedly arrive here the day after tomorrow. But if someone from anywhere stirred up trouble today, even Kaguya would not tolerate it. Up until the escort from the royal capital shows up, they will be on high alert.”

“Then…?”

Matthias nodded sternly at Xenia, who laughed conspiratorially.

“Xenia. Be fully prepared by tomorrow. Tomorrow night―we will obliterate Karen Ortesia.”

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