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There was no need to ask for the details from Melia. 

The long haired man in front of me right now has an attire that stands out, on top of- giving off an extremely dangerous atmosphere. 

An ally of Raheight, moreover, matches the profiling of the one that is commanding in Torin. 

“Hey hey, say something…Melia, was it?” 

“…So you really were tailing me?!” (Melia)

“By ‘really’ do you mean you had some certainty it would happen? Is it because the merchant that hired you told you ‘The man called Soraid you met just now is a cleric of the Yugura Church and a disciple of Seraes’ -that impossible lie?” (Soraid)

“Lie…?” (Melia)

I see, so that’s how it is. 

I have a general idea of the situation as to why Melia is here with the exchange just now. 

This man called Soraid made contact with Melia while the merchant was in the middle of his negotiations, and must have asked about me.

And then, Melia lied. 

He had his allies and subordinates tell the merchant the information just now as he did this.

If they were to tell the merchant ‘your escort seems to be interested in Soraid’, they would be able to have the merchant tell that information to Melia and the others. 

The 3 escorts would have left as normal if they haven’t lied to Soraid. But Melia lied. 

She thought that her relationship with me was discovered after being told that Soraid is a cleric that can see through lies. 

Basically, she didn’t go straight back and took strange actions like taking detours. 

“Now then, I have met a man with black hair and black eyes, but him being just a demi-human is a bit disappointing…is what I want to say, but you went as far as taking so many detours to not let me meet him, so there’s no doubt you are hiding something, right?” (Soraid)

If Soraid is an accomplice of Raheight, there’s no doubt he would be searching for me. 

But the one he actually found was a black wolfkin man. This could be called the fortune within the misfortune. 

If I hadn’t bumped into Melia here, there would have been a chance Melia would have been captured by Soraid before she came back home. 

Mix, who is currently our strongest combat power, has still not noticed this current situation. 

Let’s give her a lecture on how to haggle since the opportunity has been presented. 

I don’t know how strong this Soraid is, but judging from Melia’s reaction, he must be stronger than her. 

Also, judging from the actions he has taken, they would need some method to keep an eye on the escorts once they move away from the Holstear Company the moment he has found something suspicious. 

In that case, there’s a high possibility that there’s other subordinates and allies of Soraid hiding nearby. 

“…Melia, who is this man that screams suspicious?” 

“Ah, uhm, that’s…” (Melia)

“A guard from the Holstear Company, name’s Soraid. On paper.” (Soraid)

“I see. Anyone would want to take detours after catching the eye of a fishy guy like this. Oi, Soraid, was it? Don’t go bothering my adventurer comrade. She has a boyfriend. Give up if you have any ulterior motives.” 

“…Hm?” 

It is 50-50 whether Melia has noticed my plan here or is confused… 

For now, it seems like Soraid is not certain about it yet. 

It wouldn’t be a bad option to try and deceive him all the way here. We have to at least buy enough time for Mix to come back. 

The fastest way would be to order Kutou to send a mana alarm to Mix to have her notice the abnormality. 

But that’s a last measure. Using a devil, which is a subordinate of Purple, would be enough evidence for them to be certain about who I am.

“Your face is saying that’s not it.” 

“Obviously. My business is with you. No, is it you?” (Soraid)

“…So you are that type of person. Is it that strange to see a pure demi-human? There should be a decent number of nobles who have maintained a pure bloodline.” 

The black wolfkins have a high purity bloodline since they haven’t mixed with other demi-humans. 

You could say they are a rare sight, and it would draw the attention of demi-humans who are conscious of lineage. 

I have challenged him with that perspective, but…doesn’t seem like it will work? 

“That’s weird… My senses are telling me it is a hit though… Hmm.” (Soraid)

“Can’t even hold a conversation. Anyways, we have no intention of forming special relationships with other nobles, and we don’t want to get involved with fishy individuals like you.” 

“Spare me that. You are the resident of Yugura’s planet, right?” (Soraid)

“What are you saying?” 

If he were certain, he would have moved to the next step like attacking us. 

The reason why Soraid himself continues talking like this is clearly because he wants to confirm and bait me. 

“…That’s impressive. You can lie as naturally as breathing.” (Soraid)

“Listen here, if you want to converse, at least make it coherent—” 

“Even though Melia is showing agitation in all her face.” (Soraid)

“—?!” 

“Tch, how crafty.” 

“Even Ritial evaluates your skills highly. The chances of me winning against you in an upfront battle of deception is low. Then, it would be best to use others instead, right?” (Soraid)

The bait he placed just had Melia show a bit of fear but not to a noticeable degree. 

But what he said just now made Melia look at my face. 

There’s no way I would be able to prepare a method to have Meila have a poker face along with mine on the fly. 

Soraid readied the staff in his hand with an amused face and was trying to get into a combat stance. 

Looks like it won’t be possible to play dumb here. 

“(—Kutou, send mana to a degree where Mix will be able to detect it) Melia, get ready!” 

“Y-Yes!” (Melia)

Melia is a holy knight. 

She should be better in physical combat compared to Soraid at a glance. 

Well, he has such baggy clothes, so I doubt he will be doing a fast-paced battle -he would trip after all. 

But we should be wary of his weapon. It doesn’t look like he uses it as a physical weapon but more to assist in magic. 

The bell that looks like a decoration for the staff…is it for a technique that centers on sound? 

I have learned a lot of things about what you can do with magic from Ekdoik, but I don’t have the experience to see through it at a glance. 

“I see. That wooden sword has a monster residing in it, huh. Intimidation? No, you must have allies around. Correct decision. You guys wouldn’t be able to win against me.” (Soraid)

He noticed the mana Kutou emitted to call Mix. 

It is certain that he is not an opponent that cheap tricks would work against. 

I confirm that Melia has stepped to the front and move back. 

“(—Kutou, cover my ears and protect mainly my sense of hearing) Melia, don’t approach him carelessly. Concentrate only on defendi—” 

A massive metallic sound on a degree that I felt could pierce through eardrums rang in my ear. 

I crumbled to my knees as if I forgot my sense of direction and Kutou supported my body right before I was about to collapse on the ground. 

“Ka…ha…” 

I can’t hear anything. My whole body is trembling. 

It is even questionable whether I am conscious. 

Did he drop a flashbang or something? 

But his means of attack were really through sound like I predicted. 

I didn’t get hit by it directly thanks to Kutou covering my ears, but this damage is bad. 

Sound is a veritable attack comparable to slashes and blows. Moreover, they can’t be blocked by your regular weapons and armor, so it is nasty in nature. 

But there’s no way Soraid would be able to stay fine if it is on a level where it destroys the body. 

The sound attack Soraid used disorients and messes with the hearing. It seems like it was kept to a degree where it is only harmful to one’s consciousness. 

Melia seems to have been hit decently hard by it and has fallen on one knee, most likely because she is not used to such an attack or has not trained to block them. 

There doesn’t seem to be signs of there being a follow-up. He looks like he is having fun here.

“——–, devil ——– protect —–. Nice read ——-.” (Soraid)

The ringing in my ears was subsiding and my sense of hearing was returning. 

I can now direct my attention to the surroundings, but things have turned pretty bad. 

The pedestrians nearby are in a similar state to Melia. There’s even some who have collapsed.

“—–san, Comrade-san, are you okay?!” (Melia)

“Somehow. What about you, Melia. You were the closest. Can you stand straight?” 

“I…can stand, but it is going to take me a bit of time to recover from the damage…!” (Melia)

“The attack just now was through sound. Your sense of hearing—” 

‘Protect it with a barrier’ -is what I was going to say, but I remember the barrier of Ilias and Rakura. 

Both can block physical attacks, but they could still relay their voice to the outside and hear from inside. 

Then, that means this attack can’t be blocked by barriers?! 

“Oh, nice reaction. That’s right. A mere barrier can’t block my attack. Aah, but it could be comparatively better if you use mana strengthening on your eardrums. It is just an extempore measure, so don’t expect much from that though.” (Soraid)

Soraid hits the bottom of his staff on the ground and the same sound of before assailed us. 

It is a speed that even a normal person can follow with the eye, so I had the time to cover my ears on top of the defense of Kutou, but that still rang through my whole body. 

…No, there’s not that much damage if I cover my ears properly. It deals a violent impact, but even a civilian like me with no mana strengthening is hanging on without fainting. 

Then, Melia should be…no, wait, this is bad. 

Melia must have blocked the attack just now to a satisfactory degree, she closed the distance to Soraid without much hesitation. 

“So you have already made countermeasures. Impressive, impressive.” (Soraid)

“Targeted mana strengthening is something that holy knights have trained for!” (Melia)

Soraid is making a theatrical surprised face, but I can tell the leeway in it. 

Attacking with sound would enter the rare category. 

You can catch someone off-guard, but it is a weapon that’s hard to raise the output of since you also have to make countermeasures for yourself. 

And just as Melia said, it is possible to resist it when you are skilled in mana strengthening. 

In that case, Soraid would need the first hit to be lethal if he wants to defeat the enemy with sound. 

But, even if it gave a strong first impression, it would just be a weak jab in comparison to the monstrous fighters in this world. 

What’s the reason for this? Even a greenhorn can tell. 

“Wait, Melia! That’s a trap!” 

“Hoh, so you noticed already. But this girl who has mana strengthened her eardrums can’t hear the surroundings anymore.” (Soraid)

A strange sound rang from the staff of Soraid. 

It changed unsystematically and brought unrest on the hearts of the ones that heard it. 

Even someone with no experience in battle like me can tell instinctively that I must get away from it. 

“Master! We move out here! Danger!” (Kutou)

“I know! I will move back myself, so you have Melia retreat, Kutou!” 

Kutou extended its shadow, wrapped around the body of Melia, and pulled her. 

I try to move back as much as possible in that time. 

“C-Comrade-san?! What are you—” (Melia)

“Nice judgment. But too late. Now, it is time for the unreasonable pillaging.” (Soraid)

My ears were blocked by Kutou to a certain degree. I would have been able to endure an explosive sound. 

But the sound that the staff of Soraid released wasn’t one that rang into the ears, but a magic sound that went directly to the head. 

◇◇

I heard a thunderous sound after feeling the mana of Kutou-dono. It is clear that something happened to Mister Friend.

The mana of Kutou-dono has not disappeared, so it hasn’t become a tragedy yet, but a second thunderous sound rang. 

This wasn’t the time to be doing shopping, so I let go of the unnecessary baggage and ran to where Mister Friend is. 

(It should be around this corner—) (Mix)

But my body reflexively stopped at the sudden unpleasant sound. 

I don’t know why, but I felt that this sound was dangerous. My body was telling me that it would take away something irreplaceable.

Even the people around began to step back, so it must be the effect of some sort of spell.

(Wait, this is not the time to be analyzing this-desu zo!) (Mix)

Mister Friend is ahead of here.

My body is warning me, but that is no reason to not protect Mister Friend. 

The moment I tried to step ahead, a shuddering sound crept up my body. 

It made me feel as if the inside of my head was going to be crushed, and I unconsciously mana strengthened my whole body to resist it. 

“That just now…Mister Friend!” (Mix)

The disturbing sound was already gone and the factor stopping my legs was gone. 

I went around the corner and confirmed the situation. 

Mister Friend had collapsed right before the corner, and Kutou-dono was wrapped around his body. 

Melia-dono is on the ground a little ways away, and there’s a long haired man looking down on them. 

There’s no need to even think about who caused this disastrous scene. 

Melia-dono was attacked by this man and Mister Friend was caught in it by a bad prank of fate… It is most likely somewhere around that. 

I grab two ‘colorless’ and throw them towards the throat and arm holding the staff.

“—Woah.” 

The man smacked away the ‘colorless’ that are hard to see without any difficulties. 

He must have a way to grasp the space around him aside from his eyes. 

I went in between him and Mister Friend, and took a stance with ‘dance’.

“Kutou-dono, is Mister Friend okay?” (Mix)

“Mix-chi, too slow! Master…hit by weird attack!” (Kutou)

“I wholeheartedly apologize for that, but tell me Mister Friend’s state!” (Mix)

“Body no issues! But mind in weird state!” (Kutou)

A spell that affects the mind? But magic in general shouldn’t be able to affect Mister Friend with the mana he has…

There’s no doubt he is using magic I don’t know about coupled with that sound of before. 

“Crystal knives, huh. Aah, it matches the report. So you are the Blade of Annihilation, Mix Taizu, huh. My name is Soraid. Nice to meet you.” (Soraid)

The weapon of Soraid is a staff. 

Judging from the previous thunderous sounds and the unpleasant sound of before, is he a user of magic related to sound? 

I can’t see any signs of battle after all…

“I hate that nickname though. More importantly, what did you do to Mister Friend and Melia-dono? Spit it.” (Mix)

“What did I do, huh. An attack, obviously. It is the special technique of mine that utilizes my talent as an Illegitimate to the best of its ability. Well, the man over there was simply caught in it, so it shouldn’t have affected him as much.” (Soraid)

An Illegitimate. So this man really is an accomplice of Raheight. 

The highest priority of mine should be to get Melia-dono and Mister Friend…no, bring Mister Friend out of here at least. 

There’s no assurance there won’t be other allies even if I were to defeat Soraid, and the more time I take, the higher the risk of Ritial showing up as well. 

It seems like I am higher in terms of skills here, so it would be nice if I could defeat him in an instant, but I don’t see that happening with how he dealt with the ‘colorless’.

But having that discovered by my enemy would just elevate him…

“First, I will make you regret having put a hand on my important one.” (Mix)

“Fighting the Blade of Annihilation sounds fun, but the Torin army should be showing up soon, so I will take my leave here. That would be better for you, right?” (Soraid)

“…You think I will let you run away?” (Mix)

“You will. You have no idea what happened to those two, right? They have fainted despite there being no outward injuries. They look fine at a glance, but as I said…I showed the full power of my abilities as an Illegitimate. In other words, the situation is worse than you think. They might be in a state where you have to treat them as quickly as possible. What is it that you have to prioritize here? I think it is the same as what I imagine.” (Soraid)

He is spitting out all that I am worried about. 

But this is indeed convenient for me…

“You suck at lying. That way of saying is basically as if you are telling me ‘there’s actually no adverse effects’ and you will be laughing at my face later-desu zo.” (Mix)

“So cheap bluffs won’t work. But well, it is true that you will let me go.” (Soraid)

Soraid moved his gaze from me to Melia-dono. 

If he were to use an offensive spell on Melia-dono, I will immediately go for you, so be prepared…

It doesn’t seem like he is doing anything. 

Not only that, Melia-dono is slowly getting up…

“Melia-dono, are you okay?!” (Mix)

“…This is…?” (Melia)

Melia-dono is looking around absentmindedly. 

She doesn’t seem to be reacting despite Soraid being right in front of her.

“Uh…” 

“Master, you okay?!” (Kutou)

It seems like Mister Friend has regained consciousness as well. 

This is a relief, but I can’t lower my guard since I can’t read the movements of Soraid…wait, he has turned around…? Wait, he is running away just like that?! 

“You, wai—” (Mix)

“Uaaaaaaaan! Oneeeeeeeeeeee-chaaaaaaaaaaaan!” 

“—?!” (Mix)

The moment I tried to chase after Soraid, Melia-dono suddenly began to cry! She is clearly not in a stable state of mind. 

“That’s why I told you…it is not the time to be chasing after me.” (Soraid)

“! M-Melia-dono! Please calm down!” (Mix)

“Uaaaaaan!” (Melia)

She is crying as if she were a toddler. 

She has been hit with a strong mind attack?! No, in that case, what about Mister Friend?! 

I faced Mister Friend and he was already standing, looking around just like when Melia-dono just woke up… 

It doesn’t seem like he is going to be crying, but…there doesn’t seem to be anything off? 

I was confirming this and Soraid disappeared without a trace. 

“Damn it. I have lost sight of Soraid…” (Mix)

I was planning on letting him go to begin with, so it is not like there’s much to curse here about though. 

Let’s contact Ekdoik-dono first and have us meet somewhere. 

“I have to calm down Melia-dono first… Ah, Mister Friend! Is there anything off with your body—” (Mix)

“…?” 

There’s nothing off? It is all off. 

Mister Friend and I have made eye-contact. 

No, Mister Friend is observing me. 

But those eyes are weird. 

Those eyes are…the dark eyes of when he is trying to comprehend an enemy. 

“E-Excuse me, Mister Friend…being looked at with those eyes…is a bit…” (Mix)

I have seen Mister Friend try to comprehend something in this state a number of times. 

But he has never directed those eyes at me. 

Fear crept on me rather than displeasure. 

“Aah, sorry. You suddenly were acting like a friend, so I unconsciously…” 

“Eh?” (Mix)

W-Wa? Could it be that I wasn’t actually close with Mister Friend? 

No no, there’s no way-desu zo.

You could even say we are beyond close—wait, that’s not it, that’s not it. 

I am calling Mister Friend as Mister Friend because he is the friend of Ani-sama and…

“I can tell you are not hostile, so that’s fine. And so, I want to ask a number of things. Where am I? Is this a cosplay venue? You seem to be fluent in Japanese, but are you a foreign resident? It seems like you are an acquaintance of myself**, but it feels like you know a lot about what’s happening.” <TLN: He used ‘boku’ for the first time>

There were many times when I would not understand what Mister Friend is saying, but him using terms I really don’t understand one after the other is truly a fresh experience. 

Wait, myself? 

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