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Chapter 11
Around the time Kyle was talking with Maizer, Seran walked down the main street of the Imperial Capital. His job was to guide their enemies. Put simply, he’s playing the part of the bait. After meeting Benedix and revealing themselves, there was no more need to hide themselves.
“The most obvious enemy we have is the party that assassinated Eldorand and attacked Angela. I don’t know if they are the same entity, but I want to make sure they can’t make another move,” Kyle said and gave Seran this job.
Yesterday, Seran walked around the palace with the others, meeting the awakened Emperor. Before anybody else, no less. This definitely gave them a lot of attention. If there was anybody holding a grudge against them, they would be looking for chances to get rid of them. At the same time, they asked Beadolla to start spreading false information that Seran received a special mission from Princess Angela. No way the opposing forces would be able to let that slide, and the extreme faction would most likely attempt to take his life. And what Kyle was hoping for the most was an attack from those who knew who Seran was. Because if they did, they would reveal themselves to be the clear enemy, belonging to those who either attacked Angela or assassinated Eldorand. Through that, they might find out what these groups acting in the shadows are doing, and what their goal could be—money, influence, or something else entirely? Seran always struggled with tactical movement like that, so he was more than happy to play the bait. Meanwhile, Minagi was hiding in the shadows and followed him.
Be it Konrad, General Dargof, the Mera Cult…I just hope I can catch one of these.
Seran thought to himself as he walked through town further.
*
“But nothing’s getting caught…And I’m just bored out of my mind.”
That night, Seran reported to Kyle with a yawn. Holding back is essential during this strategy, and Seran seemed to be struggling with it.
“So only small fries would fall for that…” Kyle listened to the report and sighed.
They did catch a few people, but Minagi immediately interrogated them to find out nothing of value. They just seemed those related to influentials of the Empire who had a grudge to bear with Seran. But that was about it.
“That said…Something felt off.” Minagi commented while thinking, and Kyle asked about it.
“What do you mean?”
“Like we were being watched. Like they were waiting for a chance…But I couldn’t tell for sure. Couldn’t find anything even after I looked.”
“But something was there, right?”
“Most likely,” Minagi spoke without much confidence.
If not even Minagi could find them, it must be someone of incredible skill.
“Thinking about it, it is a rather obvious trap. Hard to go on the aggressive…So we need some mission to sniff them out.”
It was the expected result, but unlike Kyle who saw this as a failure, Seran was burning with motivation.
“Just means we gotta be a lot more bold. Should I try to show more openings?”
“Hey now, you still have to be careful, okay?”
“Easy-peasy.”
Seran just waved off Kyle’s worries.
“We couldn’t find anything, either.”
“They welcomed us with open arms, in fact.”
Lieze and Urza gave their report, too, but they didn’t have much to say. Kyle tasked them with watching over Princess Milena…Or at the very least, stay close to her. Princess Milena herself said that they were always welcome, so there wasn’t much of an issue there. At the very least, Kyle had hoped they could see if she was plotting something behind the scenes.
“She invited us over for tomorrow, too…Oddly collaborative, if you ask me.”
Princess Milena must have understood their intentions and openly invited them instead. It once again felt like they were just dancing atop her palm, but it was better than not doing anything at all.
“By the way…Did that princess say anything about me?” Kyle asked.
“What do you mean? I mean, we did talk about you a bit, but nothing much happened.”
“I see. That’s good, at least. Yeah…Anything else?”
Urza tilted her head in confusion at Kyle’s question, and he felt the snake coiling around his neck, so he changed the topic. There, Lieze commented.
“One of the knights was giving us weird looks.”
“Ah, that,” Urza nodded.
“Weird looks?”
“Yeah. A cautious and hostile gaze…It was weird.” Urza showed a complicated expression as she thought about it.
“…It’s fine. I don’t think it will come to hurt us in the long run.”
It must be referring to Frederica. But this hostility should only be directed at Kyle, not the two of them.
The following day, Kyle went to talk with Maizer again, whereas Lieze and Urza met with Princess Milena. The only one who didn’t like their current job was Seran, walking around town with not much happening. At this rate, it would just be him taking walks, so he decided to act more proactive. Minagi wasn’t the biggest fan of it, but she ended up participating in it.
Three days into this whole operation, Seran walked into a side alley and a large building. It was a public bathhouse. Because it was rather early, not many people were present, so it was like he had rented the whole place for himself. For starters, he placed his sword on the table at the entrance, because it was forbidden to bring weapons with him. Right after entering, he took off his clothes, put them into a wooden basket, and only wrapped a towel around his waist. Everything inside was stone-paved, creating clear sounds. Each drop of water could be clearly heard.
“All right, time to take a morning bath…”
He lowered his shoulders into the hot water and placed a towel on his head, enjoying the pleasure. He hummed to himself and relaxed when the sight of any other visitors disappeared.
“And you just had to show up while I was relaxing…Obstinate fellows.” Seran groaned, having grown tired of waiting.
He knew that they were heading his way while hiding in the steam, so he flashed a confident smirk.
“Well, you came this far, so I’m gonna have to ask you to come clean.”
Looking into the geographical circumstances, as well as time and situation, Minagi judged that this would be the only place they would be willing to attack. If they wouldn’t attack now, then trying to fish them out would be futile.
“No clue who you are or what you’re plotting, but you came to greet me, so you better be prepared.” He grinned confidently despite the situation he was in.
From the water appeared his hand, holding his sword. Minagi preemptively snuck this into the bath, hiding it in the water.
“As expected of Minagi. And what fine work…But it looks like the employees and visitors are alive.”
Seran looked around and saw several people collapse, but they were breathing and groaning, so they were simply knocked out. He and Minagi had already set up everything so that unrelated people would get knocked out to ensure their safety. Confirming this, Seran looked over at his opponents. He was dealing with two people, wearing leather outfits that didn’t get in the way of movement, who covered their faces with cloths, only leaving a faint gap for their eyes. The one closer to Seran carried two daggers in their hands, whereas the other carried a small knife in one hand.
“Not one to talk, eh? Now hold on…Are you two women? We’re in the men’s bath, remember?”
Their faces were hidden, but from their physique, length of legs, and the way they walked, Seran guessed that he was dealing with two women. Yet the attackers didn’t react, just reading their swords to show their lack of interest in this conversation.
“Well…I’m not gonna ask what this is about. I can take my time and question you later…So, let’s dance.”
The first one to move was Seran. The ground was wet from the hot air, the steam obstructing one’s view, but Seran had no problem with that whatsoever. He took a deep breath and then leaped at the closest one. The first attack was a feint, then moving at speeds barely even human to slice at the legs.
I’m just gonna take one leg so that they can’t run.
Seran judged they’d be more than willing to talk later on, so he slashed at the woman without hesitation.
“What?!”
However, she swiftly dodged the attack, almost as if she had anticipated this. At the same time, the enemy further away threw one knife at Seran, which he managed to evade thanks to his inhuman reflexes, but a dagger was immediately aimed at his new position. This weapon of choice must have been made in order with the layout of the room, but if this was a regular sword, it may very well have reached Seran. That’s how close it came down to. And that wasn’t the end of it, as more daggers and throwable knives made their way to Seran.
“Ah! Oh?!”
It took only a second until Seran managed to regain his posture, but even during that time, countless attacks aimed to strike him. The dagger user went right up to Seran in close range, attacking with two blades simultaneously, but that didn’t stop more throwing knives from appearing in front of Seran’s eyes. Of course, someone with Seran’s skill had no problem dealing with them, but it was the relentless assault of both of those combined that gave him trouble. The throwing knives came from a dead angle, hidden behind the dagger user’s attacks, and even if he managed to avoid these, another dagger approached his neck.
Normally, Seran would taunt his opponents almost every step of the way, but he was given no such leisure. The true danger was the endless assault of attacks. It’s not like each attack was incredibly sharp or held fatal power behind it, but the combination those two offered barely allowed him to even breathe.
“This might be bad…”
Seran managed to get away for a moment to take a breather, as his expression grew grim. He was clearly at a disadvantage. His plans worked just fine, but he didn’t expect his opponents to be this skilled. He truly believed that, except for a few exceptions, there was no member of the humanfolk in this world who could actually defeat him. This confidence wasn’t just blind arrogance, but rather an affirmed truth. His fatal mistake this time around was that he counted the enemy’s strength based on their numbers. And it certainly didn’t help that he was naked. With throwing knives, the danger could be mostly prevented by wearing even light armor, but Seran didn’t have this comfort right now.
Additionally, he didn’t have his beloved Holy Sword Rand with him, but rather your average mass-produced sword. He had to make the tough choice of not bringing it with him to not let it suffer from the hot water. It was supposed to be a treasure used only on the big stage, not something he should brandish on every occasion. On top of that, he would not be receiving any assistance. Seran confidently told Minagi to come in after he gave her the signal that he dealt with the attackers. Realizing that he lost his battle because he underestimated his opponent, he clicked his tongue.
“If that old hag finds out, she’ll never let me live this down…”
He definitely didn’t skip out on his training, but overconfidence proved to be fatal. Not to mention that these two managed to escape Minagi’s watchful gaze. He was wrong from the moment he considered he could beat them all by himself. He created a trap for himself, so in order to get out of this situation unscathed, he had to use everything his head had to offer. He wasn’t strictly losing. If he continued to fight like this, he should be able to win. But the bigger problem was that he didn’t want to fight any longer. Fighting them left him with an eerie sensation he couldn’t quite place his finger on, his instincts warning him that this should not continue for much longer.
“All right, time to retreat.”
He admitted his failure and decided it would be best to escape while he could instead of suffering any possible injuries. Making decisions like these in the beat of a heart was one of his strengths. The attackers must have realized his attention to escape, as they stepped backward, creating space between them. This bath area had not a single room, and the only thing behind them was the exit. There was only one small gap in the ceiling for the hot air to escape from. They must have judged that Seran had no way to run if they blocked off his singular escape. However, Seran showed a devious smirk and turned his back toward them.
He was heading for the corner of the bathhouse. With his back to the wall, it was an advantageous position, but it also made it harder for him to escape. Seeing him block off his own means of escaping, the attackers must be doubting if this was a kind of trap. In fact, the second Seran turned his back toward them, it was the perfect chance to attack, but they didn’t move. Both parties must be cautious at this point in time. If they even relaxed for a moment, Seran would use that chance to kill them both. And this hesitation is exactly what Seran hoped for, as he ran toward the wall.
“…!”
The attackers must have guessed what he was planning on doing, as they were shaken for the first time since the fight began. In front of him was a stone wall double the thickness of his arms, holding no meaning to him, but that was his way of escaping. He swung his sword a few times, slicing a large hole into the wall.
“Farewell, suckers!”
A passage big enough for one person appeared, as Seran stepped out onto the big street. Of course, he may have been on the second floor, but it mattered not. The only issue was his attire, namely a towel wrapped around his waist. He was practically naked. This was the biggest street in what could be considered the largest town in all of human territory, so of course he gathered everybody’s attention, but he just started running. He reached the back alley where Minagi should be waiting and called out.
“Change of plans! We’re running!”
Minagi appeared from the shadows in shock, only to freeze up when she saw him.
“They’re stronger than I thought! I think there’s more people. Running’s our best bet!” He said with a serious voice.
Minagi knew of his true abilities, so if he urged a retreat, it would be wise to listen to this suggestion, but Seran’s appearance left her bewildered.
“What’s wrong? We should hurry and…”
“…”
Realizing that this was a lost cause, Minagi turned her back to Seran and walked away—She pretended to not know the man. Shortly after, guards gathered at the area, drawn in by the confused screams of the citizens.
“So you went around the main street butt-naked and then came back?”
Kyle received the report of what happened from Minagi, as he looked outside to see Seran running his way while only wearing a waist cloth.
“What else am I supposed to do? Also, I made sure to hide everything necessary.” He pointed at the towel around his waist in pride, but Kyle was too baffled to react.
Currently, the group was using a room at an inn owned by the Marco Business Association. Through ups and downs, running from guards and protecting his own pride, Seran made it here. Knowing that he would have to apologize to Klaus later for having caused this chaos, Kyle sighed.
“You’re not telling me you got back here with empty hands, figuratively and literally.”
“I do have a hint or two,” Seran carried a small knife in his hand. “It’s a special type of knife. Made to be thrown, so we might be able to trace them back.”
“I see…So, any idea who they might be?”
Hearing that Seran had to run to safety was a shocking revelation for Kyle, so he was more than curious about their identity.
“No clue, but I found it pretty interesting that neither of them made any sound. If they’re worried about being found out based on their voice, they might be someone we met already?”
“Or maybe they’re famous and we’re going to meet them from here on out.”
Kyle thought about it, but there was no way he would find an answer here.
“Gotta be more cautious from now on…I know it might be weird coming from me, but you watch your back.”
“Yeah, got it. But you put on some clothes already.”
Seran’s serious words didn’t carry much weight while he was just wearing a regular towel.
“There was something else. They were definitely being serious with their attacks…but I didn’t feel any hostility. Almost like—” Seran was about to finish his sentence when someone knocked on the door.
Kyled opened it, greeted by an employee of the business association. He handed Kyle a letter, which he accepted.
“It’s from Mom…Prince Konrad reached out to her, so she’s going to meet him soon,” Kyle said while reading the letter, his facial color changing.
“Oh? So where is Prince Konrad right now?”
“In the slums, in fact.”
CClaw Translations 