Volume 8 Chapter 7 Elk Vs. Assassin
Irori.
In the center of the room, there was a hole filled with ash, where fire was started using wood and charcoal, a heating device from Yamato country. It seemed that cooking was also done here.
Elk stared at the irori with curiosity.
"You're starting a fire indoors? It's different from a fireplace, but won't it produce smoke?"
"...Do you even know what's happening outside? The irori doesn't matter right now."
"No, no, I've never seen anything like this. The culture of Yamato is amazing!"
Elk stood up and pointed both hands toward the wall opposite the entrance. As he thrust his hands out, a sound like something being blown away and crashing into a rock was heard. Then, the back door of the house opened.
"You brat, just stay quiet───..."
The moment Elk pointed his right hand, the villager could only breathe.
Seven villagers circled around from the back door.
Kaya sighed.
"I knew it, the whole village is in on this... Lady Yato."
"Yes. Elk, we'll handle the rest, so don't interfere."
"Okay, got it."
Elk opened the mouth of a man whose movements were restrained by telekinesis and forced him to eat a dish piled with something.
As the man ate the dish, his eyes rolled back... he seemed to have collapsed.
It wasn't poison, but a powerful sleeping drug.
"Kaya, can I kill him?"
"No, if possible..."
"Understood. Then I'll just knock him out."
Kaya and Yato jumped out the back door.
Elk hesitated about what to do, but since there didn't seem to be any strong presence, he decided to leave it to them.
However─── since he was there, he thought he would try to sense another presence.
Wearing an eye patch mask and a hood, he concealed his presence and went outside. Then, he climbed onto the roof of an empty house.
"...Found you."
There were a few people on the roof of a house a little distance away from Elk's empty house.
"Assassins... this is a good opportunity. I should check what kind of people they are."
Elk floated his body with telekinesis and flew to the roof where the assassins were.
* * *
The assassins from Yamato country noticed the approaching black shadow.
There was one shadow, while the number of assassins was 4.
The leader of the assassins, Akane, was shocked.
"They noticed us at this distance. Everyone, scatter!!"
The 3 others, excluding Akane, scattered in different directions.
However, the black shadow was only targeting Akane.
As it got closer, its appearance became clearer.
A black coat, a hood, and an eye patch mask that covered a quarter of the face. Only the left eye was exposed, and that eye was looking at Akane.
"Hello. You guys were the ones staring, weren't you?"
"───...!!"
Akane realized.
The 3 who had scattered were fixed in mid-air.
"'Ability'..."
"Ability? It's a skill, right... oh, it's Yamato language. More importantly, I want you guys to stop sneaking around. The teachers say there's no harm, but I'm really curious."
"You... are you an assassin from another country?"
"No, I'm not."
"Don't be ridiculous. With that outfit and those weapons, what else could you be but an assassin?"
"This is Emma's hobby... well, you probably wouldn't understand. So, shall we play?"
Elk spread his arms wide.
Akane let her hands droop and swayed her body.
"Ability... 'Air Port.'"
"?"
With a thud, Akane jumped and started running in mid-air.
Akane felt a slight disturbance from Elk and quickly closed the distance in the air. She bent her right hand and deployed her blade, aiming precisely for Elk's throat.
Elk twisted his neck to dodge and extended his left hand, deploying his blade to strike at Akane's heart. However, it only grazed her clothes, leaving no injury.
But...
"...!?"
"Snake!!"
"Whoa!?"
A whip-like kick struck Elk's temple.
Elk defended with his gauntlet, but his movements suddenly slowed down.
Akane used her skill, 'Air Port,' to create a foothold in mid-air, moving rapidly. This was Akane's specialty──disruption attacks.
However, Elk remained shaken. Something was clearly off.
"What's wrong? You seem all talk."
"N-no... it's just, your chest."
"What? ...Ah."
Elk's blade had grazed Akane's clothes, causing them to tear.
And... one of her breasts was exposed.
Yes, Akane was a woman. Elk was disturbed by the sight of a woman fighting with her chest exposed.
However, Akane didn't try to hide it; instead, she lunged at Elk to incapacitate him. In fact, she saw it as an opportunity.
"Hmph, a kid!!"
"Ah~~~... sorry, but it's over now."
"What!?"
Akane's body froze in mid-air.
Just by pointing his right hand, Elk made her body stop moving completely.
Elk used Telekinesis to pull a towel that was hanging nearby and wrapped it around Akane's chest. Then, he drew in the still-frozen assassins and bound them with ropes he had stored in his item box.
"Y-you... did you plan this from the start?"
"Well, yeah. I wanted to know what kind of people assassins are. By the way, considering the current situation in this village... how about we talk about you guys?"
"...Fine."
"C-Captain!!" "Our mission is..." "Is this really okay!?"
The subordinates reacted. But Akane shook her head.
"Either way, the mission is a failure now that we've been discovered. The assassins from the Galatinne Kingdom, and that knight... they're quite powerful. You kid is not to be underestimated."
"Do you not know about Kaya and Yato?"
"Kaya... oh, the Oniwabans group (Protectors of the Noble House). I don't know about Yato."
"...You guys really don't know anything, do you?"
"Our mission is to 'monitor the envoy from the Galatinne Kingdom.' We don't have any information about the opponent."
"...Well, whatever. Oh, it seems like things are wrapping up over there."
It seemed that Sophia, Yato, and Kaya had also subdued the villagers.
Elk took Akane and the others back to an empty house.
* * *
"───So, I brought them here."
"""......"""
While Sophia, Yato, and Kaya were fighting the villagers, Elk had fought and won against the assassins he was monitoring, bringing them back tied up.
This made Sophia hold her head in frustration.
"I understood monitoring the assassins, but you didn't have to bring anyone back."
"No, it felt creepy being watched..."
"...Captain Akane!?"
"So it's really Kaya. I heard you were on a 3-year break."
"Excuse me. Actually, there are various circumstances..."
Kaya looked at Yato.
Akane glanced at Yato, squinting her eyes... then her eyes widened in shock.
"Could it be... could it really be, Lady Sakuya!?"
"That's right. My mission is to take Lady Sakuya with me."
"That's ridiculous. She was supposed to be dead."
"Yes, Sakuya is dead. The one here is Yato from the Shikiba family... I'm Yato."
"......"
Akane remained in shock.
Sophia tilted her head in confusion.
"Um... what does this mean?"
"By the way, Miss Sophia probably doesn't know."
"...Well, I guess I can talk about it now. Kaya, please."
"Okay. Is it alright for Captain Akane and the others to listen?"
"Yes. It seems they were watching without knowing my true identity. Hehe, you just did what you were told, right? Not caring about the other person's identity while spying is so typical of an assassin."
"...Then, I will explain."
Kaya clearly explained the situation so far.
Yato was the third daughter of the Kushinada family. She had escaped from the Kushinada family during her first battle, and it was believed she had died. She was then taken in by the Shikiba family and became Yato. She had been living as a mercenary. She crossed over to the Galatinne Kingdom and became a student. Due to an attack by Adrazione, her identity was revealed in the Yamato Kingdom, and she received orders to be brought here by Kaya. The Galatinne Kingdom had sent a letter regarding the Fire Gem, and she had come to the Yamato Kingdom in line with that.
Yato stated clearly.
"I don't care about the Kushinada family anymore. I came here to completely sever ties."
"......What!?"
"Assassin, clean up this village. If there are spies, as the captain, you should accompany us. It's better than being followed secretly."
"...Understood."
Akane ordered her 3 subordinates to clean up the village.
Elk spoke to Sophia, who still looked confused.
"This is a hassle, isn't it?"
"......I wonder if we can really return in 2 weeks."
"Well, for now, let's prioritize the letter about the Fire Gem."
Of course, Elk and the others didn't know.
That there was already a priest from Adrazione in the Yamato Kingdom.
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