Til shook off the dirt on her clothes with a few sharp pats, casting a sidelong glance at her opponent.
Hugo didn’t relax his defensive stance, whether Til did so or not.
“You got a nice job, and your skills have improved a lot, Hugo.”
“It’s been years, so I’d better have improved at least a little.”
Even as he replied glibly, Hugo’s defense didn’t waver.
Til shook her head as if exasperated.
“You're gonna keep defending so boringly like that?”
“Of course. No need to show any openings to the Weapon Demon of Chartra.”
“You’ve gotten calm.”
In the past, he would’ve charged in, burning with competitive spirit.
The comrade she saw again after years was very different from what Til remembered.
“What’s the purpose of coming all the way to this cold place?”
“Officially, to investigate the Demons who supposedly kidnapped Chancellor Hendrick.”
“And unofficially?”
“To meet you.”
Hugo gave a slight smile without lowering his guard.
It was a smile that felt bad in a different way from Valheit’s.
If Valheit smiled to mock, Hugo’s smile was pure.
A purity completely misdirected, that is.
“What about Hendrick’s whereabouts?”
“I’m not interested in our old man’s political games. Whether Hendrick was kidnapped by Demons or ran off on his own, I don’t care.”
“You’ll get fired like that.”
“I’ll find him later, and that’ll be that.”
Til let out a sigh without realizing it.
Even in the past, when Hugo got fixated on something, he ignored everything else.
When he hunted down the mercenary who scarred his chest, when he was obsessed with gambling, even when he pestered her to teach him swordsmanship—it was always like that.
Once he got into that state, he wouldn’t budge until he got what he wanted.
But she had no intention of answering easily either.
“I told you. Beat me, and you get one question. You’ll never hear it if you keep turtling up like that.”
“I’m doing my best to win.”
Til twisted her body, barely dodging a blade that shot out from behind her.
The sharp blade wavered and melted into the shadows.
It was the shadow spell, a symbol of the Geller family.
How could he use a spell passed down only to the Geller family’s bloodline and their closest vassals…?
“I was lucky enough to have some talent for magic. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t even be standing in front of you.”
At the word “magic,” she gritted her teeth.
The memory of her father’s openly disappointed face when she was told she had no talent for magic flashed in her mind.
She charged at Hugo, swinging her hand axe toward his side.
Hugo easily twisted his longsword to block it, his eyes widening.
Before he knew it, a long awl in Til’s left hand was aimed at his chest.
It was impossible to bring the longsword back to block in time.
Clang!
With a sound like something hitting glass, the awl stopped just in front of his chest.
The shadow blade aimed at Til missed its mark.
“As expected, you came prepared.”
Til clicked her tongue as she spoke, pulling back. It wasn’t a directly cast defensive spell.
A protective barrier inscribed in a magical tool had activated automatically.
If he had cast the defensive spell himself, he wouldn’t have been able to attack with the shadow blade at the same time.
“A small perk of working under the old man.”
“Small, huh? An ordinary person couldn’t afford something like that in a lifetime.”
“We’re not ordinary people, are we?”
Hugo, with his irritatingly calm face, spouted annoying words and resumed his defensive stance.
He attacked with shadow magic and defended with magical tools and swordsmanship.
For Til, who couldn’t use proper magic and had to press to create openings, he was the worst kind of opponent.
“Gonna keep going? It’s been a while, so let’s catch up some more.”
Confident in his advantage, Hugo taunted her.
This was bad. She needed a breakthrough, but no good ideas came to mind.
“Let’s take it slow. I want to enjoy this for a while.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have time.”
With a familiar voice’s sneer, a grotesque black hand lunged fiercely at Hugo.
Hugo barely deflected the black hand with his longsword, stumbling back a few steps.
Valheit emerged from the darkness, wearing a fishy smile.
Hugo’s expression hardened at the sight.
“…Count Valheit.”
“Yes, that’s me. Greetings. As I said, we’re short on time.”
Valheit waved his hand dismissively.
“I’ll finish this in under a minute.”
* * *
Looking back and forth between Hugo, who glared as if facing his parents’ killer, and Til, who narrowed her eyes, still processing the situation, I cursed inwardly.
‘Damn it, I really don’t have time.’
The meal with Victor had ended abruptly.
If we had to declare a winner, I’d say I won.
Victor, falling for my bluff, had gone after Blaiher’s group to secure Hendrick.
The problem was what came next.
Even with Joseph there, could he stop Victor, the most seasoned of the Three Blades? Probably not.
So, I had to catch up to Victor before my bluff was exposed.
‘And bring Til with me.’
It was obvious that bringing Til was far better than moving alone against an opponent with unknown numbers and strength.
So, I needed to shake off this stalker as quickly as possible.
“Seeing you here, the Commander must have gone with the Hendrick pursuit team.”
Hugo nodded as if he understood. Then, he gripped his longsword with resolve.
“Don’t think you’re leaving easily.”
Annoying bastard. Always saying the worst things.
I quickly scrolled through the Status Window.
[Would you like to activate the ‘Weapon Demon’ skill?
Current duration based on Relationship: 27 seconds]
The relationship had trickled up, nearing 30 seconds.
Whether I could finish him at that time was questionable, but it was the only way to end this quickly.
[Activating ‘Weapon Demon’ skill.]
[Hidden trait ‘Revealed Eye’ temporarily activated]
When I opened my right eye, I could see at a glance how Hugo manipulated his mana and which shadows hid his blades.
I charged at Hugo, drawn in as if pulled.
Not missing his startled reaction, I used Mana Grasp to pin down his longsword and swung my staff at his thigh.
Hugo forcibly twisted his wrist, swinging his longsword to knock the staff away.
‘That creates just enough of an opening.’
Til’s axe blade slammed down, exploiting the gap in his upper body as he blocked below.
Just before it reached his neck, the mana etched into his clothes formed a hard shell.
Through my blood-red vision, I could clearly see the movement of mana.
Dodging the mana blade that sprang from the shadows, I searched for gaps in the barrier.
“Til, left shoulder!”
As Hugo twisted to block an attack from the right, his left side was exposed.
The awl slipped through that narrow gap and lodged into his shoulder.
“Ugh!”
Once disrupted, Hugo could no longer fend off the attacks.
Blades tore through flesh, and the staff struck his head.
20 seconds.
That’s how long it took for Hugo to fall to his knees.
Blood from his wounds soaked his black clothes.
“Finished cleanly.”
My eyes closed.
The backlash from Weapon Demon made it hard to balance, but I held on with Mana Grasp.
“Ugh…”
Hugo bit his lip and lowered his head.
Only then did I notice the staff, haphazardly planted to keep me upright, had crushed Hugo’s hand.
“You’re crushing him. Well, that’s the least you’d do to avoid trouble later.”
Til said, patting my shoulder.
I hesitated on how to respond but decided to let it slide.
“Victor went after Blaiher. If we chase now, we won’t be too late.”
“You were in a hurry, unlike your usual self.”
Til’s gaze drifted downward.
Hugo, a mess, looked up with difficulty.
“You asked why I’m working under this guy.”
“……”
Without avoiding Hugo’s blazing eyes, Til continued calmly.
“You’re mistaken. I’m not working under him. I’m under someone entirely different.”
Would that explain it?
Well, explaining why she abandoned a comrade she fought alongside for years to take a different path would take more than a sentence or two.
“Rather than becoming a Duke’s dog like you, working with this creepy guy is far better.”
Spitting out the words with contempt, Til turned away.
As the backlash from Weapon Demon faded, I pulled the staff, half-buried in Hugo’s hand, and followed Til.
Hugo, staring blankly at Til’s back as if in shock, seemed a bit pitiful.
“Is it okay to leave him like this?”
“You gonna kill him? It’s better to have at least one acquaintance in the Three Blades.”
“No, I didn’t mean that…”
“…If there’s a problem, I’ll take full responsibility. I’ll make sure the Eight Council isn’t affected.”
I wasn’t asking about killing him, but since Til went as far as to take responsibility, I let it go.
[Relationships]
▶ Til Chartra (27 / Improving!)
(+) Did not execute Hugo!
It helped the relationship chart too. And there might be something to use him for later.
“Have the Demons escaped?”
“When I last checked, they were heading into the mine tunnels, so they’ve probably all crossed by now.”
I was curious about what Noah’s group was up to, but for now, I’d told Cesare to keep a close eye, so I let it slide.
To interfere with the Northern Federation and other regions, we first needed to stabilize the Empire.
It was time to replace the Emperor.
* * *
Three men on horseback were moving in step with a woman.
Victor observed them from a distance.
The elderly man was definitely Hendrick Kruber.
Seeing him ride so casually, the story about being kidnapped by Demons was, as expected, a lie.
Joseph, the second son of the Chartra family, was escorting Hendrick.
There was no way to know why the Chartra family was protecting a criminal certified by the Emperor, but it wasn’t an ordinary situation.
The other two were unknown.
The slightly tanned boy, by his attire, seemed like Joseph’s squire, and the woman walking alone… he had no clue who she was.
‘The Three Blades’ Dagger, the elite three, were taken down by these people?’
Victor shook his head, scratching his chin.
He’d anticipated that Valheit had assigned escorts to Hendrick.
But he’d misjudged their level.
Officially, Count Valheit moved alone, but it was almost certain he had a group supporting him from the shadows.
The escorts attached seemed highly skilled. They’d effortlessly subdued three of the Three Blades’ Daggers.
By the time Victor found the three he’d sent to pursue Hendrick, it was too late.
All three were already corpses, skewered in the middle of the forest.
‘Not even a large escort team…’
Lowering his telescope, Victor was about to melt into the shadows.
He instinctively stepped back.
If he had to give a reason, it was a bad feeling.
Victor didn’t usually trust his instincts, but this time his body moved first.
A white skewer shot toward his face.
If he hadn’t stepped back, it would’ve pierced his head.
‘I didn’t sense any mana at all.’
Wiping cold sweat, Victor noticed a note attached to the skewer’s tip.
In elegant handwriting, a single line was written:
[Go back.]
Checking Hendrick’s group again, he saw they’d all stopped.
Among them, the woman not on horseback was staring directly at him.
‘…I’d better retreat for now.’
He couldn’t gauge the skill of the escort Valheit had hired, whoever they were, so he couldn’t take the risk.
Having already lost three Daggers, if he fell too, the Three Blades’ reputation would be in tatters.
As Victor slipped into the shadows to escape, a woman with bright orange hair watched the scene from afar.
“Something wrong?”
“No, it was nothing.”
She shook her head at Joseph’s question, her bright orange hair swaying lightly.
“We’ll part ways here. An old friend is coming soon.
He’s got a bad personality but he’s smart, so he’ll be here quickly.”
“Thank you for your help. May I have your name?”
At Blaiher’s question, the orange-haired woman smiled faintly.
“Call me Anat.”