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I am extremely grateful that I don’t need to worry about the side of Mister Friend now that Murshto-dono is not showing himself anymore.

Even if the defense of Lady Ratzel, Wolfe-chan, Purple-dono, and Dyuvuleori-dono is perfect, the unease of there being an enemy that’s not clear whether he is an enemy or an ally is more worrying…

“But aren’t you simply jealous of Murshto-san?” (Rakura)

“Rakura-san, you shouldn’t say that stuff out loud even if you think that-desu zo.” (Mix)

Yeah, I don’t want to admit it. To think that a gentleman might take Mister Friend away is just… It is pretty scary.

He looks like a lovely lady, and yet, the reality is that he is a man, so he has a far easier time closing the distance compared to a woman.

The other day, he even said he was going to take a bath with Mister Friend, and Mister Friend said ‘no, it would be too cramped’ to refuse-desu zo!

It means he would have let him if it was big-desu zo!

“But I think Counselor-sama has taken a liking to Murshto-san too. I feel like he desires friendship between men more than love after all.” (Rakura)

“The matter of Lord Domitorkofucon was seriously bad…” (Mix)

The reason why Mister Friend desires a friendship between men rather than women is simply because he is aware of them as the opposite gender. It is something I am grateful for since I want him to be aware of me.

On top of that, he is purposely creating distance from us so that we don’t get jealous.

He is proactively deepening his friendship between women like Masetta-dono, Melia-dono, and Blue-dono, but he seems to be showing self-control with me and Purple-dono.

“But isn’t that fine? Counselor-sama being able to make a close friend at this time is a good thing. Someone like Murshto-san, who can talk shoulder to shoulder with him, is extremely good for him when King Marito is not present.” (Rakura)

“That Ani-sama in question was extremely displeased by this…” (Mix)

Lady Ratzel should be enough for a partner he can talk with as equals though… But Lady Ratzel is way too serious after all.

Ekdoik-dono puts Mister Friend in way too high of a pedestal, and Haakudoku-dono is…treated more like a pet rather than a man.

That means there’s no one who can serve as a substitute for Ani-sama who is eloquent aside from Murshto-dono…

“King Marito is a pretty jealous person. He is even cruel towards me.” (Rakura)

“I think he is simply being thorny towards you by reflex because of how lazy you are.” (Mix)

“Hiih.” (Rakura)

The reality is that Ani-sama is refraining from getting pampered by Mister Friend in order to maintain an equal relationship. He is basically jealous of Rakura-dono who can get pampered by Mister Friend right in front of his eyes, but…if I were to tell this to Rakura-dono, she might begin flaunting it to Ani-sama.

“But I am starting to see a limit to the information we can gather.” (Mix)

“Right… We are outsiders, and I may have changed clothes, but…” (Rakura)

The reputation of the Yugura Church isn’t that high in Serende, so Rakura-dono and Masetta-dono wear different outfits when they are acting.

Masetta-dono had casual clothes, but Rakura-dono was a brave woman with only her priestess clothes and her pajamas. And so, I am having her wear the clothes that I like.

I honestly wanted to increase the skin exposure a bit more, but the person herself didn’t want to and I wouldn’t want her hogging the eyes of Mister Friend, so I refrained.

“Your faces will be known after working that long of a time there, or more like…there really is a an aura peculiar to that organization.” (Mix)

The people of the city try to not speak of information that would be detrimental for the companies that are the face of the city.

They are sealing their mouths tightly shut, saying they haven’t even heard about rumors of them.

But I can certainly see fear deeply rooted in those eyes of theirs.

There’s eyes and ears anywhere you go. That’s why they can’t just carelessly be cooperative with outsiders.

In that case, we are most likely also being observed the whole time…

“Should we try capturing them?” (Rakura)

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea, but…hmm…” (Mix)

We have noticed the gazes, but there are a lot of eyes that are practically those of novices, so they most likely don’t care if they are discovered.

It should be better to assume it is impossible to get information from them.

It would also be difficult to narrow it down to the presences that feel like they are experts…

“Oh well, let’s not get too bothered by it and take it easy! Our field of view might get wider if we act with leeway!” (Rakura)

“Right.” (Mix)

Rakura-dono goes at her own pace, but her sharpness surpasses even me who did nothing but work as an adventurer.

Wiggle room really is important. This is a good lesson!

But shouldn’t we be wary of the people who run away the moment we make eye contact in street stalls and the ones who have a glare in their eyes?

“Check this, isn’t it cute? It’s worth negotiating with Counselor-sama to see if he can buy it for me!” (Rakura)

“Rakura-dono, if you frolic too much, you will bump into the pedestrians—?!” (Mix)

My body moved reflexively.

I draw my knife, rush over to Rakura-dono, and organize the current situation in my head.

A man is approaching Rakura-dono. He is holding a basket with fruits, but there’s something strange about the way he is holding it.

He must have something in between his opposite hand and trying not to drop it.

Most of all, he is looking straight at Rakura-dono instead of where he is going. There’s killing intent in it.

“Rakura-dono! Behind you—” (Mix)

“Eh?” (Rakura)

Oh no, Rakura-dono looked at me because I called her.

The man must have seen that as an opportunity. He dropped the basket, held the knife he was hiding, and ran towards Rakura-dono.

I won’t make it in time at this distance.

If I throw a knife, I should barely be able to—

“?!”

I crashed into someone who jumped in from the side.

I was careful about my surroundings, and yet, something like this…!

I moved only my gaze for an instant, and I made eye-contact with the woman that crashed onto me.

This woman approached me with the sole intention to crash onto me from the start.

Her expression is a mix of fear and agitation. A civilian who was ordered to interfere with me at this very moment.

No, more importantly, Rakura-dono…

“Uhm, sorry. Did I make some sort of blunder?” (Rakura)

“?!”

The one making a shocked expression was the man who was trying to stab Rakura-dono on her abdomen.

The knife had stopped clean on top of the clothes of Rakura-dono, and the moment he noticed that this was due to a minuscule barrier, the man threw the knife away and ran into the crowd of people.

I would like to praise Rakura-dono who blocked an attack from her blindspot, but what’s more important right now is to catch the assassin.

The woman that crashed onto me is most likely not the one. The one with the information is without doubt the man.

“Rakura-dono, let’s chase after the man just now!” (Mix)

“Eh? O-Okay!” (Rakura)

I lightly injure the leg of the woman with a knife smeared with paralyzing poison just in case.

I jump on top of a street stall and search for the man.

…Found him. I saw him go in between some private houses.

I confirm the positioning of the buildings around and cast mana strengthening on my legs.

I jump from the street stall, run on the walls of a private house, and go all the way to the roof.

I grasp the running mana with detection magic after closing the distance of a few houses.

Grasp of the distance, direction of the wind, and confirm the obstructions.

“There!” (Mix)

I throw the knife diagonally upwards, in a way that draws an arc.

Even if I can’t see him directly, it is not difficult to land a hit on him when he is running at the same speed in a path with no roofs.

I use detection magic again when the attack should have landed, and I judge that it landed from the fact that the mana running away has stopped.

I close the distance in one go through the roofs.

The man before had collapsed there, and the knife I threw was stabbed in his shoulder.

Fuuh, I am glad it wasn’t the head or the neck.

It would be one thing if I could see him, but throwing by feel makes it hard to make it land where I want it to.

I feel someone using detection magic from a bit behind me. Must have been Rakura-dono trying to locate me.

Let’s finish restraining this guy before she arrives.

“Good grief, attempting an assassination in broad daylight is—?!” (Mix)

I approached the man and noticed that he wasn’t moving at all.

If his movements had been sealed with my paralyzing poison, he should be convulsing without losing consciousness.

I run to where the man is and flip him over. The man had died with blood dripping out from his mouth.

This scent that faintly stabs at my nose… So he had poison slipped inside his mouth, huh.

He must have judged that my knife had paralyzing poison smeared on it, and realized that he couldn’t escape, so he immediately committed suicide… He went out without hesitation like an anbu.

Anyways, we won’t be able to get any valuable information from this man anymore.

The girl from before might still be alive, but I doubt I will be able to get any information we want.

“Umumu… I am a bit worried about how Ekdoik-dono and the others are doing now.” (Mix)

I scratch my head and decide to wait for Rakura-dono to catch up while heaving.

◇◇

“Aah, thanks for the help there… I was troubled because there was no one who could help me out with the physical work after my son left.”

“Don’t worry about it! We simply answered our desire to help out the people who are troubled! Isn’t that right, Ekdoik-san?!” (Melia)

“…Right. Melia, is there any issue with the angle?” (Ekdoik)

We found an old lady with a house that had a broken window while I was gathering information with Ekdoik-san.

When we asked, she said she lives alone and didn’t have any people she could rely on to repair it.

I thought I should do something about this, so I offered to repair it, but…that’s Ekdoik-san for you.

“That’s impressive, Ekdoik-san! You can hold the planks with chains and hammer them with chains!” (Melia)

“Blue told me ‘do at least this much with your hands’ when I showed her this though.” (Ekdoik)

“Ah, I did think about that a bit… But this is easier for you, right?” (Melia)

“Yeah. As someone who can move my chains as freely as my fingers, I end up feeling like it is inefficient to use my arms that have a limit in their length and angle, but…the only one who would most likely understand me in this is Dyuvuleori.” (Ekdoik)

I also don’t think I would be able to understand that feeling.

Even if you ask me what I can do with a sword aside from fighting… I tried to slice vegetables and meat with my sword, but I thought a kitchen knife would definitely be better.

Comrade-san said ‘he can do anything with chains’, and he probably really can do anything… He was flying with chains the other day after all…

If possible, I would like him to do something about my maiden heart with his chains… That would be impossible.

“Sorry for having you tag along. But I couldn’t leave her be…” (Melia)

“Don’t worry about it. I learned something too.” (Ekdoik)

“Hoeh? Really?” (Melia)

“Yeah. When I heard about gathering information, I thought it would be to ask straight on, or take a gamble by seeing how they move. That’s why I felt freshness from drawing information from other people by getting close to them like this, and it made sense.” (Ekdoik)

What’s impressive about him is that he would learn from actions that you haven’t even taken and would accept them.

If he faces you in such a straightforward manner, you have no choice but to answer him regardless of whether it is about a person or a thing…

“I will be leaving the tea here, you two.”

“Thank you very much! Granny, is there anything else you would like us to help out in?” (Melia)

“Right… The big flower vase at the entrance, can you carry it to the shed that’s at the back? It is hard to look after a vase that big when I am this old, you see. Not doing anything makes it look lonely instead.”

I took a glance at the entrance and there was a flower vase that was placed there all alone. It looks more like a pot than a flower vase with that size though.

It is true that putting flowers in a flower vase of that size would be tough for this old lady.

“Got it. I will be carrying this then. Please take it easy at home, Granny.” (Melia)

“Sorry about that. You really are a great help.”

The old lady bowed and entered the house.

Well then, I shall enjoy the tea she brought—

“Melia, I think you can already tell but…” (Ekdoik)

“It is okay. Comrade-san told me that I should not drink or eat anything that has been given to me.” (Melia)

The assassination techniques of Serende with poison are apparently more outstanding compared to those of other countries.

And we were expressly told to show the utmost care about foods and drinks.

Even if they look like harmless people, there might be people who will use those people to poison the food and drinks.

I am a bit thirsty, so I do feel reluctant about it, but…I spill it on the dirt while apologizing.

I do think this is overdoing it a bit, but I must avoid being a bother to Comrade-san at all cost.

If I were to mess up again like in Torin, it would be difficult to even be near Comrade-san.

When that happens, that would naturally mean being by the side of Ekdoik-san would also be…

“I will be fine by myself here.” (Ekdoik)

“Then, I will put away the flower vase in the shed!” (Melia)

“I could carry it there with my chains from here though.” (Ekdoik)

“I feel like it would be better to carry it with our hands to a place we can’t see…” (Melia)

It must be an emotional object for her. If she were to see it being carried with chains, she might get shocked.

This lack of common sense is a weak point of his, but also a cute side of him…

I carry the flower vase to the shed.

It is decently heavy, but there should be no issues at all if I use mana strengthening.

Would Comrade-san shake his head in silence…? Wait, I shouldn’t think of something rude!

The shed has a sliding door, so I put down the flower vase first and opened it to confirm the inside.

I found a perfect place to put it, so I placed the vase there.

There’s a lot of tools, but most of them are dusty… You stop maintaining the tools you don’t use when you are living alone.

“Let’s clean them up… But I would feel bad taking too long—?!” (Melia)

Something rushed at me from the right side the moment I came out from the shed.

I reflexively blocked using my arms, and I felt dull pain and a strong impact that reached my bones.

I was attacked. By who?

Someone is here. An unknown man with hostile eyes. I must deal with this.

I take distance from the man and put a hand on my sword.

I confirm the equipment of the enemy while drawing my sword, and what he is holding is an iron club.

He seems to be used to rough jobs judging from his atmosphere?

But he is showing a surprised face at not being able to finish me with the first attack, so he isn’t that strong?

Accept the challenge? No, what I should do right now is share the information with Ekdoik-san.

That’s why the next action I should take is to call him.

“E—?!”

I tried to raise my voice, but I couldn’t speak because of the attack that came from my back. My head was shaken with a blow close to the back of my neck.

There’s one more?! Check—no, I have to regain my posture first…!

My body couldn’t move as it wanted and I fell to the ground.

I am conscious, but my vision is hazy and I can’t confirm the situation.

“Good reaction……. Unskilled…… Holy knights are… Knights……”

“Hurry. Get out…the longer…who knows when…use detection magic……… Knock her out for sure…hurry and carry her……”

I can hear them talk.

It is all broken, but I can somewhat tell that they are trying to carry me off somewhere.

One of them came closer to me to pick me up.

What should I do? I have to resist. I have to call for help. Again…

“…?”

The man in front of me disappeared.

I don’t feel the presence at my back either.

What happened?

I was wondering this and felt a cold and hard metallic sensation at the back of my neck.

Mana flowed into me from that metal and my consciousness slowly got stable.

“Are you okay, Melia?”

“Ah, Ekdoik-san… Yes, probably…” (Melia)

Ekdoik-san had carried me up at some point in time.

There’s barely any pain in my body, and it seems like he did emergency treatment with magic.

I slowly get up and confirm the state of my body.

I am a bit wobbly, but I am fine.

“I got here a bit late. Sorry.” (Ekdoik)

“No, you were shockingly fast… You didn’t use detection magic, right? How did you know what was going on?” (Melia)

“I had a chain of mine wrapped around the belt of your scabbard. It suddenly shook when I thought you came out from the shed, and confirmed that you fell, so I came running.” (Ekdoik)

I glanced at my belt and there really was a chain wrapped there.

So he confirmed my movements with chains remotely.

But when…

“Ah, r-right! What about the people that attacked me?!” (Melia)

I looked around and faced up after I found something in the corner of my vision, and there were 3 men hanging in the air with chains.

All of them seem to have been constricted to the point of fainting. On top of that, their arms and legs are bent in impossible directions.

“I haven’t killed them. I just constricted them, broke their limbs, and had a paralyzing poison course through their whole body. Should I do something more as a precaution?” (Ekdoik)

“I think that’s plenty enough though… So there were 3.” (Melia)

“Looks like we need to talk with that old lady before we carry them away. The equipment of these men is clearly for the objective to kidnap you. There’s a high chance the old lady who led you to the shed is an accomplice.” (Ekdoik)

“!”

I tried not to think about it, but that really is the case, huh…

They went ahead of us while we were talking to a civilian, and led us to the shed where there’s no eyes of others to attack us.

It wasn’t a sudden action, but a premeditated ambush.

“That old lady is probably being used. I don’t plan on being rough with her. Don’t worry.” (Ekdoik)

“O-Okay… Uhm, by the way, when did these chains…?” (Melia)

“In the morning when we were leaving the base. Comrade told me to always keep an eye on you by wrapping a chain on you for the times when there’s no choice but to have you leave my vision.” (Ekdoik)

I am being protected a whole lot… That’s how unskilled Comrade-san sees me…

But that really did help out… *Sob*

“I am a bit conflicted by this, but…you saved me. Anyways, these chains are impressive. They can detect my movements even from afar.” (Melia)

“The accuracy decreases the further you are, but if it is the distance of just before, I can measure stuff like your swaying, pulse, temperature.” (Ekdoik)

“T-That far…” (Melia)

Couldn’t this read my feelings?!

Even if I were to try and say there’s no need to read that much, they are factors he has to keep in check for when they use stuff like poison or magic to make me fall asleep…

“It seems like your temperature and pulse rises easily normally. Is there any abnormality in your body?” (Ekdoik)

“None! There’s none! Don’t worry about it!” (Melia)

Uuh… I was jealous of Blue-san, but…this stuff is way too embarrassing…

◇◇

It is normally calming, but this is the first time I feel like glaring at Hilmera-sama to this degree after seeing her carefreely wiping the stone statues on top of the bed.

“I am back, Hilmera-sama.”

“Welcome back. Did you properly finish him?” (Hilmera)

“No, it didn’t work. *Cough*.”

The blood accumulated in my throat came out together with that cough.

I managed to stop the bleeding by using mana strengthening, but I wouldn’t be able to breathe if I were to stiffen my throat, so it can’t be helped.

“Hey, can you not dirty my room? What would you do if Onii-sama were to slip from that?” (Hilmera)

“Please worry about my safety right now.”

“You seem to be doing well. You stink of blood though.” (Hilmera)

Of course it is. Moreover, it is mostly my blood.

There’s no way you would be able to kill someone like that in an upfront battle.

He was throwing attacks that would kill me for certain to match my own attacks. That’s impossible, impossible.

“He was strong. That man is most likely the strongest in this world within humans.”

“Apparently. Envoy-sama hung on in a battle of attrition until his stamina ran out.” (Hilmera)

“Aah, I see. Not letting him counterattack is also an option.”

But I had to kill Arcreal under the orders of this princess.

In other words, I had no choice but to be the target of such unreasonable counterattacks.

Evading and unleashing deadly blows at the same time is beyond unfair.

“So, you failed in sealing his mouth?” (Hilmera)

“Half and half. Someone that seemed to be an acquaintance of Arcreal interjected in the middle and kidnapped him.”

“You didn’t chase?” (Hilmera)

“There’s nothing I can do if he disappears with no traces of mana using teleportation magic.”

A woman that seemed awfully rowdy showed up, touched Arcreal, and disappeared.

I heard there was someone who could use teleportation within the former allies of Arcreal. She is most likely the Illegitimate called Molari.

I actually wanted to finish them together, but I was seriously injured in my battle against Arcreal, so it can’t be helped.

There’s no doubt I would have been the one dead if it had turned into a fight.

“Then that means you failed in sealing his mouth.” (Hilmera)

“No, he most likely won’t be regaining consciousness for a good while with those wounds. I think it will take a good amount of time before he can give them the information. It will probably buy enough time for him to reveal the secrets of the royal family.”

Aah, I could have killed him if I had a bit more time though.

I wasn’t decisive enough and wasn’t lucky.

I really am not good at assassinations.

“I see. That’s enough. You were so close to taking the throne of the strongest. That’s a shame.” (Hilmera)

“Don’t joke around. I couldn’t deal a single fatal wound to that man and received a whole ton myself, you know? I was completely defeated. Completely.”

“You normally call fatal wounds stuff that kill you when you get one. You were beaten up that badly, huh.” (Hilmera)

“The flesh and bones go without saying, and my organs were pretty sliced up too. My armor was shredded into nothing, so I changed into my spares, you know? Please order new ones, okay?”

I actually want to go immediately to that man and heal this unreasonable fatigue.

But I would die if I were to push myself further than this.

It is a miracle that I am still alive. I am impressed I am still alive.

“Why are you still alive?” (Hilmera)

“Isn’t it horrible to deny my life?” (Murshto)

“I am grateful that you are alive, you know. I have called for a doctor, so go get treated at once.” (Hilmera)

You don’t need to shoo me away.

Let’s leave after I cough out a bit more blood.

No, I would die if I were to cough more blood than this, so let’s endure.

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