Chapter 150: The Muzzle

“Haaah-phooom!”

“…”

“Isaac, I’m bored.”

The journey to the Magic Tower was rather tedious. At first, she thought she was just relieved that a major incident was finally over.

But soon enough, that relief turned to boredom.

It had been exactly three days since their departure, and Sharen was already bored.

Swinging her legs back and forth, she demanded something entertaining from Isaac, who sat across from her.

“I’m not a clown.”

Isaac’s bland reply as he looked out the window. Sharen pouted and tapped Isaac’s leg with the tip of her foot.

“I’m bored. If I knew it would be like this, I shouldn’t have come. I should have just stayed at the Magic Tower eating snacks.”

“Have you forgotten that your sister was nearly in great peril?”

“She’s safe, isn’t she? So that’s that!”

The Grandmaster let out a hollow laugh at her cheerful reply. Since the topic had come up, Isaac thought it was a good time to add his own thoughts.

“Master, more importantly, could you please stop shaking your leg? It’s starting to get on my nerves.”

“Ah, I apologize. Not being able to smoke is making me strangely anxious.”

The Grandmaster had started to quit smoking. For some reason, she had declared that she would quit.

“I’m so anxious, would you mind holding my hand?”

The Grandmaster held out her hand. Isaac looked at her with an expression of disbelief and asked.

“Is this why you declared you would quit smoking?”

“Well, there’s that too, I suppose. It’s an excessively healthy excuse, don’t you think?”

The Grandmaster didn’t wait for an answer. She slyly took Isaac’s hand and pulled him. In an instant, Isaac found himself sitting next to Sharen and the Grandmaster.

His eyes met Rianna’s, who was staring straight at him. As Rianna stared blankly, the Grandmaster held Isaac’s hand.

“Stay like this. Your master is very anxious and would like to be at ease.”

“What on earth is the effect of holding a disciple’s hand that makes you feel at peace?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. I’ll think about the reason while I hold on to it.”

“…”

Since when did she become so brazen? He stared at the Grandmaster, and she gave him a sly smile and turned her gaze out the window.

Thud!

“Time to sleep!”

Sharen laid her head on his lap. Looking up at Isaac cheerfully, she rubbed her cheek against his thigh and asked.

“Isaac, wake me up for lunch in a bit!”

“…Haa, alright.”

He was too tired to say anything. Sharen was just a child, so he decided to let it go and looked ahead.

Rianna, who was in front of him, was still staring at him. It looked like her tongue was constantly moving, as if she had something to say.

…I should pretend not to see.

He couldn’t very well untie her, and if he did, it would probably cause another commotion.

“Excuse me, sir? There’s someone in front of us.”

At that moment, the carriage slowly began to slow down. At the flustered voice of the coachman from beyond the wall, Isaac slowly stood up.

“Ako?!”

Sharen, who had fallen under the chair as a result, let out a scream.

“What are you doing?!”

“Helmonts are sturdy, aren’t they?”

“Even so, this is—! Aaack?! Sister! Don’t step on me!”

Rianna, who seemed to have seen an opportunity, stepped on Sharen who had fallen to the floor and pretended to look at the empty space.

Is there something there?

Even though there was nothing where her blank gaze was fixed, it was as if she was looking at something.

“Oww! Isaac! Because of the Vassalization, my sister is trying to assassinate me!”

Ignoring her, Isaac got out of the stopped carriage alone.

In the middle of the field path that the carriage was passing through, a group of people were waiting with friendly smiles. A carriage stood beside them, and their flags and clothes were those of nobles.

“Ah! Baron Logan!”

They know me?

That meant they had been intentionally waiting. Isaac nonchalantly tucked a Tachi into his belt and stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

“Haha! I am Viscount Hellerwein, who rules the nearby territory. I came to offer my help to those who are doing great work.”

He glanced at the coachman for confirmation. The coachman nodded, confirming that Hellerwein’s territory was nearby.

“I thought you might be quite hungry on your journey, and also tired.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Indeed, Viscount Hellerwein’s carriage and bundles were filled with the savory smell of food and soft blankets.

“However, I cannot accept too many gifts.”

“Of course! Of course! You only need to take what you need. And I have also prepared some travel expenses separately.”

Viscount Hellerwein whispered conspiratorially. But what came out of his pocket was not a money pouch, but a dagger.

Slash!

In the blink of an eye, blood splattered everywhere and a scream erupted.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Even though Viscount Hellerwein had been the one to launch the surprise attack, it was his own wrist that was severed and fell to the ground.

“There’s probably no human who can draw their sword faster than me.”

He muttered to himself, looking down at Viscount Hellerwein with a knife in his hand.

He was confident in this one thing. Literally, there was no human who could follow Isaac’s act of drawing a sword.

“Keuh! Keuheuh-eup!”

The servants who had come with the agonizing Viscount Hellerwein were flustered. It seemed they had no idea that the viscount’s assassination would take place.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“What’s that smell of blood…?”

Sharen and the Grandmaster came out. They looked at the situation with bewildered expressions.

Isaac already had his sword at the viscount’s throat and asked.

“The Sponsors, I presume?”

The Sponsors. A group centered around nobles who had sold out humanity and sided with the Transcendents.

In his past life, their betrayal had thrown the kingdom into rapid chaos, and in the end, they had managed to survive as human slaves under the Transcendents.

“Did they order you to attack the carriage? Thinking there would be few guards?”

But now, things were different. In this life, starting with the assassination of Princess Adeline, the series of events involving the mercenary group and Baron Volten had led to the extermination of the Sponsors.

Even though the two princesses had rooted out the traitors to the extent that the nobles shivered.

So there were still some left.

Clutching his severed arm, the viscount crouched down and clenched his jaw in anger.

He was trying to hide the information with silence.

“You should have shown that much loyalty to the kingdom.”

“…”

“In times like these, no answer is also an answer. You should have at least begged for your life to buy some time.”

It had only been three days since they left, and an attack had already come. It meant that the Transcendents knew the direction and location of the moving carriage.

“W-wait—!”

The viscount could not add another word. Isaac’s sword had already sent his head to the ground, and he calmly wiped the blood from his sword with a cloth and spoke to the viscount’s servants.

“Is the Chief Aide here? Go to Evergard and report the situation to the princess. The viscount was a traitor to humanity, and Baron Logan executed him. You probably won’t get caught up in this.”

“Ah, I understand! Th-thank you for sparing our lives!”

The Chief Aide hastily stepped forward and knelt, bowing his head. The others quickly knelt before Isaac as well.

But Isaac was already heading back to his carriage.

“Let’s leave immediately. It seems we won’t be arriving at the Magic Tower so easily.”

“Ah, I understand! Giddy-up!”

The coachman hastily spurred the horses, and Isaac climbed into the carriage.

“What was that about?”

The three women’s gazes fell on him at once. Isaac explained concisely.

“The Transcendents are after Rianna. It’s a force that Helix gained by cutting off one of his arms, so they can’t just lose it without gaining anything.”

“Hmm.”

“It seems they can track our location, so the journey won’t be boring.”

With that, Isaac straightened his clothes and sat back down. As the carriage rumbled forward at a faster speed than before.

“Hoo, you’re slightly cut.”

A faint wound on the back of Isaac’s hand. It seemed he had been grazed by the man’s dagger when he had swung his sword at close range.

“Hold out your hand, I’ll bind it for you.”

Then, the Grandmaster suddenly thrust her hand into her chest. What came out was a bandage. It was still warm, and he could guess what it had been pressing against.

The Grandmaster’s chest seemed to have grown a little larger.

“…You’re going to tie it with that?”

“Hmm? What else? Do you have another bandage?”

“I have a handkerchief.”

“Hmph, handkerchiefs are for ladies. How unsightly is it for a man to cover his wound with his own handkerchief?”

Is that so?

Sharen, who was watching from the side, took the end of the long bandage and suddenly sniffed it, only to get a flick on the forehead from the Grandmaster.

“Ouch!”

“As a master, I can give all this to my disciple.”

“Ahem.”

It seemed a bit excessive, but since she was offering, it would be rude not to accept. The moment he held out his hand.

CRACK!

The sound of something breaking came from the side.

“…”

She must have bitten down hard. Rianna’s muzzle had broken and fallen to the floor.

Suddenly, he remembered what Sharen had said before.

I heard Helmonts have strong teeth, too.

Indeed, they did.