Ch.325325. Before the Meal (3)

●

“You must remember this.”

Serath opened her mouth with a serious voice.

“Don’t make loud noises. Try not to stand out.”

“…”

“It might be difficult for a barbarian like you, but I’m asking you to at least make an effort.”

“…”

“Still, someone like you is quite good at moving your body. No matter what, you should be able to follow at a distance.”

Hearing those words, Riru Garda, unusually without showing any sign of anger, looked at what was behind Serath with a dumbfounded expression.

Her face suggested that getting angry wasn’t worth it because the other person’s situation was too ridiculous.

“…Why are you carrying her on your back?”

Indeed, Victoria was being carried on Serath’s back, her head hanging low with a face that suggested she wanted to die.

In contrast, Serath’s expression suggested this was perfectly normal.

“Victoria hasn’t completely mastered shadow arts yet.”

Though her dignity was significantly diminished by carrying Victoria on her back, her voice was filled with authority, proving that she hadn’t earned the title of Grand Assassin by mere chance.

“When we can’t afford even the slightest mistake like now, it’s actually easier to just carry her.”

“…Aren’t you putting too much effort into stalking just one man?”

“…”

Using shadow arts—techniques that supposedly enable one to assassinate anyone—to follow a single man was already excessive investment.

Perhaps unable to confidently answer this, Serath remained silent.

“…Anyway, let’s go. We can’t leave Darwood Campbell like that!”

With those words, Serath strode forward.

Her skill at instantly concealing her presence even in a crowded downtown area was admirable, but the problem was that there was someone nearby who could immediately see through such techniques.

“…Those friends, despite appearing to be on bad terms, aren’t they actually quite close?”

With an incredibly incredulous expression, the Emperor, sitting on the Sword Saint’s shoulders, blew out a long stream of smoke from his pipe.

Thanks to their tremendous height difference, this posture didn’t look awkward at all.

Perhaps the most impressive thing was that despite being in such a conspicuous state, they didn’t attract any attention from passersby.

While they were mainly walking through less crowded alleyways, this was probably due to the barrier set up by the Sword Saint, who was quite versed in magical techniques.

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Despite all that bickering, they always stick together when doing something.”

“There’s a saying about growing fond of each other through fighting. Perhaps it’s a sentiment shared among martial artists.”

“I see. It’s a sentiment I find somewhat difficult to understand.”

“…Actually, I’m having trouble understanding Your Majesty right now.”

The Sword Saint, Rad Barfon, glanced up at the Emperor sitting on his shoulder.

“After being humiliated like that, you still want to seek out that man—”

“—I thought we agreed never to speak of that again, Rad.”

“…”

The Sword Saint quickly shut his mouth.

As someone who had served as the Emperor’s bodyguard for a very long time, he could quickly discern when it was appropriate to interject and when it was not.

When the Emperor’s voice turned cold like now, it was definitely the latter.

“…Anyway, I’m following that man because I was asked to.”

He scratched his head as he spoke.

“What exactly do you want to do? Simply watching from afar would just be observing someone else’s happy pre-meal event.”

“Indeed. A valid point.”

The Emperor nodded in agreement with a solemn voice.

“So we should interfere.”

“…”

“At the very least, I can’t bear to watch those two enjoying immediate happiness. I imagine everyone here feels similarly.”

“…Your Majesty. Forgive my impertinence, but weren’t you the closest of friends with the Tristan Duchess?”

“Friendship aside, what can I do about feeling irritated?”

To think that such a person would shoulder the future of the Empire.

The Empire. Is it really going to be alright like this?

As the Sword Saint was pondering such profound concerns, the Emperor’s words dropped once more.

“Let’s first consider what would make both Elnore and Darwood maximally upset—”

“—Actually, I think I’m more upset than either of them.”

But before the Emperor could continue.

Thunk.

The barrier the Sword Saint had set up was cleanly cut through with a sound like “screech-“.

“…”

“…”

The Sword Saint and Emperor’s expressions simultaneously went blank at the blade that had cut through so cleanly, like a kitchen knife through tofu.

The reason they didn’t react aggressively to such an act was because the Sword Saint quickly discerned that there was no hostility at the edge of that blade.

“Even if you want to interfere, there should be some difference in class, right? When Demonic Vessels like you all gather in one place, who has to clean up afterward? Right? I’m already on the verge of having a fit from cleaning up after you every day in my territory—”

In fact, considering the scene that followed, it seemed like a wise judgment.

There was almost a demonic energy in Elia Krisanax’s muttering words, which clearly showed she was furious, even if not hostile.

Elia, who had cut through the Sword Saint’s barrier with her holy sword in one stroke, strode into the alleyway where they were.

Behind her, she was dragging Yuria Greyhaunter and the Holy Maiden like borrowed sacks of barley, whom she had clearly knocked unconscious.

“…Were those friends here too?”

“Of course. Demonic Vessels are all like magnets and iron with the teacher, so they’re everywhere.”

“…”

Hmm.

Seeing that the Emperor himself was here, that wasn’t such a wrong statement.

“…But weren’t you also here to interfere with Elnore? Why such a violent reaction—”

“I stopped you because I’ll probably be the one cleaning up if there’s another incident.”

“…”

“You guys never care about the aftermath when you cause trouble, do you?”

“…”

“…”

The Sword Saint and Emperor fell silent simultaneously.

●

“…You know what? Honestly, I’m the same kind of person.”

Feeling a strange sense of kinship at the sight, Elia spoke with an incredulous voice.

“None of you have any intention of respecting others, do you?”

“…”

“…”

The gathered women silently looked at each other.

After a moment of silence reminiscent of Wild West gunslingers with hands on their holsters, Faynol Leiphec, who had managed to put on the thickest face, was the first to speak bluntly.

“Well, aren’t we all thinking the same thing?”

“Huh?”

“After hearing talk about marriage and whatnot, didn’t you all want to teach that arrogant person showing off right in front of us a lesson?”

The density of the gazes being exchanged grew even thicker.

It was a terrifying atmosphere where a physical explosion wouldn’t have been surprising.

“Um, we shouldn’t fight too much…!”

Yuria, who had been maintaining the most moderate demeanor, fluttered and opened her mouth, but Riru, who had been listening quietly, sighed and interrupted mid-sentence.

“You say that, but you’re already out here during someone else’s ‘turn’.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to fight, step aside. I’ll take that guy.”

Yuria’s mouth snapped shut.

Her fluttering appearance was gone, and a small fighting spirit settled in her eyes.

‘Well, well.’

Seeing even the most docile person suddenly change her demeanor, Elia inwardly snickered.

Right. They say the quiet cat is the first to climb onto the stove.

Though the people here aren’t just climbing onto the stove—they’re the kind who would forcefully subjugate other cats to live on the stove forever.

“…That person over there seems to have noticed something.”

Riru smiled combatively, looking at Elnore who had been glancing in their direction.

She seemed to be plotting something, having already noticed the presence following her.

“…The Duchess over there probably thinks she’s already won. Don’t you think she’s watching us with a sense of showing off?”

“—That’s interesting.”

As Faynol smiled and said that, everyone present had similar reactions.

Ah, so that’s how you want to fight?

“From now on, we’ll give everyone a fair chance.”

The Emperor grinned and said.

“Whoever disrupts them best gets to compete for that man based on their abilities. Understood?”

The strong will prevail.

Don’t complain about the results later.

‘…Why are these people so brazenly talking about backstabbing others?’

Elia’s question dissipated hazily in her mind.