Master’s Smile

C107 – Familiar Presence

Before heading to the main gate, which was the source of movement, I took a quick look at the noble uncle next door.

I wasn’t particularly worried as his presence hadn’t disappeared.

Instead, I was glad to see that he was sleeping soundly, as expected.

This was my first errand in a long time so I couldn’t fail and let everyone in Yelquchira down.

I saw a couple of private soldiers patrolling along the way, so I told them to stay in front of his bedroom.

There was no sign of suspicious movement from the main gate yet, so everything should be fine, but I had no choice but to leave it to them in case they got through me.

Thus, I had arrived at the gate with no speck of anxiety, but….

Aah…, this is terrible.

The soldiers guarding the main gate were all lying on the ground.

“Ugh….”

I thought they were dead, but apparently not, as some of them were still groaning.

I then checked the soldiers who were lying nearby and found them still breathing and they had not suffered any serious injuries that needed to be treated right away.

This could be considered as a mercy by the assassin, but it really shows their ability.

They had the power to make ten soldiers unconscious without letting any of them escape or even killing any of them.

…Huh? Am I going to lose?

I was excited to see that I could accomplish the request and had gotten Ritter’s approval for heading first, but won’t I get killed if I’m careless here?

*Krrtk*….

There was a sound like small stones being trampled.

Although it didn’t erase the smile plastered on my face, I was still drenched in cold sweat inside.

I looked up slowly and saw the person, who had knocked the soldiers to the ground, standing there.

I tried to look at their face to see what they looked like, but I failed as they were wearing a thick hood.

They were holding a sword in their hand with an eerie presence.

T-Truly like an assassin….

They were tall and sturdy so I would expect them to be a man, though….

As expected, he has a familiar presence.

I can also tell from facing him that this man is quite skilled.

He was releasing a tremendous amount of pressure, as if he was about to cut me down.

That would have made me fainted if I had not experienced a lot of things while I was wandering around in the past.

“…….”

I asked who he was, but obviously he didn’t answer.

U-Ugh… that makes him even creepier.

Hmm… What should I do?

The best thing would probably be to capture this assassin alive without getting killed.

As for who he works for…, well, I have a pretty good guess, but proving that could only happen if we captured his underling and questioned Prince Lintz about it.

But….

“…….”

The assassin kept staring at me without making a move.

From his pressure, it was unlikely that I could stare him back.

It might be possible for someone like Ritter, who had a lot of experience in combat, but for me, who was away from the frontline, it seemed impossible.

In addition, I’m not that good at careful work like capturing or keeping my enemies alive.

Maybe I should train again for this kind of thing after this request is over….

“…Is now the time to be absorbed in your thoughts?”

I was in a daze and the assassin gave me such a grateful warning.

Oh, thanks. Sorry about that.

I almost gave such a carefree reply, but it never came out of my mouth.

That was because he suddenly appeared in front of me and swung his sword at me.

“Shih!!!”

Hiiieee!!!

A sound of slash ripped through the air from the place where I was.

I had managed to avoid his slash.

F-Fast!! I was surprised by the sharpness of his sword, as well as his instantaneous movement.

That was at least much faster than Princess Neena’s sword, which I had been allowed to watch before.

…Rather, why are you slashing me with your blade!?

Can’t you just stun me like what you did to the soldiers!?

“…Hou, you were able to avoid my slash?’

I moved away with a fast beating heart while the assassin looked at me admiringly.

Fortunately he did not try to close the distance again.

“That Ritter had taken a liking to you and you suddenly became one of Princess Neena’s entourages. I thought that you were no ordinary man, and I was right after all.”

I am glad to hear you say so, but to be honest, that wasn’t a recognition of my abilities.

Ritter became attached to me after I helped her a little to free her from “that country”.

Princess Neena also took me into her inner circle because she trusted Ritter.

“Don’t be so humble. No one without a fair amount of skill can avoid my attacks.”

No, that was by chance….

If you do the same thing again, I’m not sure I could dodge it….

“As expected, you’re not an easy opponent to beat like the ones lying here.”

…Huh? He didnt seem to believe me and his intimidation had increased considerably….

Really, I’m not that strong, you know?

I’m only somewhat capable of self-defense.

“Here I come!!!”

Don’t come!?

Well, there was no way I could say such a thing, and I set myself up with a resigned smile on my face.

The assassin easily closed the distance between us with his impressive leg strength.

Uwaaah!? The sword is coming right at me!

I might be able to counter him if I didn’t care whether he needed to be alive or dead, but it would be better for Princess Neena in the future if I could capture him alive.

For that reason, there was no way I could strike him with my magic bullet….

“Wha!?”

So I had no choice but to destroy his sword by hitting it with a magic bullet.

Well, it’s easy to destroy an ordinary sword that isn’t a holy one.

The assassin watched in dismay as his sword shattered into pieces and scattered on the ground, reflecting the moonlight.

This would tilt the battle in my direction.

…Even so, I can only do very little of melee combat, though.

“…Stay away from Master.”

That’s why, I’ll leave it to my sincerely trusted comrade in this situation.

Without warning nor notice, Ritter, who was still dressed slovenly in thin garments, stepped in between me and the assassin.