“How’s the situation?”

“According to reports from Gamma who is monitoring the female dormitory, the girl is having tea with a maid.”

“The male dormitory has lights on, suggesting someone is still awake, according to the report.”

Figures with their faces covered by black cloth and dressed in black clothes had gathered.

They were the assassins sent by the World Tree Church to the royal capital. The covert unit.

The man who appeared to be the leader expressed his dissatisfaction at the reports from his subordinates.

“Tsk, these youngsters, what time do they think it is, not even sleeping…”

“And boss, there’s a question from the field about personnel deployment.”

“Five combat personnel for the male side, the rest all to the female side. The top priority is securing the girl.”

“I will relay that.”

“We proceed when all targets are asleep. Move to near the location now.”

About an hour later, perhaps all the people in the two dormitory buildings had fallen asleep, as the surroundings became completely dark.

After a bit more time passed, the covert unit’s agents began to move quietly around the area.

Jingle~

With a slightly dull bell sound, five men in black attire slipped into the male dormitory building like shadows.

The man at the front looked at the object in his hand and said admiringly:

“Indeed, an ancient artifact. To break through Gransen Academy’s security magic so easily.”

The bell in the man’s hand was ‘Bell of Illusion,’ a magical tool created in ancient times.

It was a formidable magical tool that could easily disable most barriers or protective magic.

Of course, it wouldn’t work on top-tier barriers used by high-level magicians or priests, but who would be foolish enough to use such a valuable magical tool just to break into a student dormitory—such complacency had led to this result.

“This is one of only three the church has secured, right? To provide two of them…”

“It shows how important this mission is. Stay alert and let’s go.”

The five combatants moved quietly inside the male dormitory.

They already knew the location of the target’s room and planned to handle it quickly and efficiently.

“Oh my, why do we have to sneak into a place where dark-skinned men live…”

“We just need to handle one sleeping student, is all this really necessary?”

In response to his subordinates’ comments, the superior quietly replied:

“Quiet, such carelessness could lead to trouble.”

“Ah… yes, yes.”

“……”

The superior inwardly sighed deeply.

In fact, he had been thinking the same thing.

Though he didn’t know the detailed circumstances of the mission, it seemed strange that so many people were mobilized just to kidnap one student and eliminate another.

And even borrowing such precious artifacts.

Of course, he immediately dismissed that thought.

Their job was just to carry out the assigned mission, not to question it.

“Boss, we’ve arrived.”

“Good.”

They had finally reached the room where the target lived.

Jingle~

After using the artifact, they unlocked the mechanical lock with a tool in hand.

They opened the door as quietly as possible, but perhaps because it was slightly worn, it made a small creaking sound.

Everyone held their breath and checked, but the target sleeping on the bed showed no signs of waking up.

Still holding their breath, the superior man signaled with his hand.

Though it was described as a single room, it was spacious enough for three people to enter, probably because it was a room for high-ranking nobles.

Two kept watch outside, and three entered the room to approach the target.

A black-haired boy sleeping soundly, snoring heavily, perhaps very tired.

At the superior’s nod, one of the subordinates drew his sword.

Shring

Raising the sword drawn as quietly as possible, he swung it toward the boy’s neck.

At that moment.

Boom!!

With the sound of something exploding, the subordinate who had swung the sword was sent flying.

The superior and the other subordinate reflexively threw their bodies backward, but the subordinate who flew and hit the wall seemed to have hit his head hard and fell unconscious.

“What’s this, has a little rat snuck in?”

The black-haired boy had risen from his place and taken a combat stance.

“Target confirmed.”

One of the black-clad figures who had infiltrated the female dormitory said while confirming the sleeping girl in the room.

More than ten people had infiltrated this dormitory to kidnap that girl.

No matter how you look at it, it was an excessive number, but they were just faithful to their mission.

However, there was one order for the mission of kidnapping that girl.

Make sure, above all, that no one sees you.

If discovered, definitely eliminate the witness.

That’s why they moved with caution.

“Light the sleeping incense.”

“Yes.”

They lit weak sleeping incense in the room where the girl was sleeping.

It would be troublesome if she woke up during the operation to secure her.

After a while, when they thought enough time had passed for the girl to be completely asleep, their actions were swift.

“Secure her. Enter quietly.”

“Yes.”

Too many people entering the room would easily create unnecessary noise.

So only two people quietly entered the room to transport the target.

They approached the bed quietly and reached out to move the sleeping girl.

It was a simple mission considering how many personnel had been mobilized.

That was the moment.

“Guh!”

“Ugh…!”

The two subordinates who had entered to move the girl collapsed on the spot with a short scream.

Sensing something was wrong, the remaining personnel went on alert.

As they exchanged glances and tensed their nerves.

“Kuh!”

“Aak!”

Two people screamed and collapsed on the spot.

In an instant, four people had fallen, and panic spread among them.

And that panic sealed their fate.

“Aak!”

“Kyaak!!”

One by one, another one.

Eventually, judging that it was impossible to handle this situation quietly, the leader-like figure drew his sword and shouted:

“Damn it! Show yourself!”

Of course, the opponent wasn’t a fool who would reveal themselves just because they were told to, so they didn’t show themselves.

All they could tell was that the opponent was clearly stronger than them.

They weren’t particularly skilled in combat but were covert operatives specialized in stealth.

They were originally a unit formed by the church gathering drop-outs, people who weren’t skilled as knights.

They were composed of people with at most mid to low-level knight skills.

The leader desperately racked his brain.

His subordinates were dying one after another, and to make matters worse, he started to sense the stirrings of female students who had awakened due to the commotion.

‘This isn’t working… then.’

And he opened his mouth and shouted:

“Everyone who’s still alive, secure the target by any means necessary! Overwhelm with numbers!”

That’s right.

Securing the target was the top priority, no matter what.

“Kuh!”

“Aak!”

Subordinates dying with screams.

The leader also ran toward securing the target.

“Ugh!”

Jingle!!

The leader, who had been running, somehow moved his body in response to the faint killing intent directed at him.

When he confirmed that something had hit his weapon and fell to the floor, the leader’s eyes widened.

“A fork…?”

“You’re quite good.”

At the cold female voice, the surprised leader’s gaze turned in that direction.

And bright light entered the previously dark room.

A brown-haired woman in a maid outfit was looking at him with cold eyes.

“I threw it while suppressing my killing intent as much as possible, but you still blocked it.”

“A… maid?”

“I had a feeling when surveillance was detected… but I won’t forgive you for targeting the young lady.”

Perhaps they were the ones being monitored instead.

The leader, shocked at the maid who appeared before him, was shocked once again.

The time it took for him to block the attack, roll on the ground a few times, and get up to look at the maid was only a few seconds.

However, in that time, the dozen or so subordinates he had ordered to secure the target with suicide attacks were all lying on the ground, apparently dead.

All of them with forks stabbed in their necks.

“F-Forks?”

“Using a cake knife would have been too difficult, after all.”

“That’s not the issue…”

The leader, who had been scouted into the covert unit after reaching mid-level rank but couldn’t become a high-level knight and enter a knight order due to lack of talent, let out a groan.

The maid in front of him was definitely stronger than him.

“Now then… what will you do? You can surrender, or you can attack.”

“……”

“Either way, since you tried to harm the young lady… I have no intention of letting you live.”

“My choice is… this!”

The leader drew his sword and charged at the maid.

The maid, Phyllis, easily blocked the leader’s sword.

…With a cake knife.

“Didn’t you say using a cake knife would be too difficult?”

“Stabbing may be difficult, but blocking is possible.”

“Damn it! I thought even if a fight broke out, it would be on the male dormitory side…”

Phyllis responded casually to the leader who was muttering with dissatisfaction.

At that moment, a voice was heard from the side.

“Ugh… my head hurts… what’s all this noise?”

Even though Riel had fallen asleep after inhaling the sleeping incense, it was impossible not to wake up with all this commotion.

Riel came to her senses and looked around the brightened room, and turned pale.

“W-What is all this…”

Just as Phyllis opened her mouth to say something, the leader shouted:

“Now!!”

At that moment, from among the bodies of the subordinates lying on the ground, one figure suddenly sprang up.

The black shadow immediately ran toward Riel.

“Oh no…! Young lady!!”

As Phyllis, surprised, tried to run to Riel, the leader put strength into his sword.

“You shall not pass!”

“Get out of my way!!”

“Kyaak!!”

Phyllis hurriedly pulled something out with her other hand and stabbed it into the leader’s neck.

Feeling great pain, the leader looked down to see what was embedded in his neck.

It was a fork, the same as what was stabbed in the necks of his subordinates.

The leader collapsed to the floor with an expression of disbelief.

“W-What the?!”

“Young lady!!”

But regardless of whether the leader died or not, the one surviving subordinate ran straight at Riel.

Though Phyllis didn’t know exactly what they were trying to do to Riel, she ran desperately.

But just as Phyllis was despairing that she would be too late.

“Kyaaaaak!! Fire Shock!”

“Kyaaaaaaak!!”

The subordinate was engulfed in flames and sent flying.

Phyllis watched this with wide eyes.

“S-Surprising…”

Riel was there, with one hand extended and the other stroking her chest in relief.

“Phyllis… what on earth is going on?”

“Young lady… are you alright?”

“Uh… yes? I was a bit startled, but I’m fine…”

Phyllis also stroked her own chest in relief.

“I apologize! Because of my carelessness, the young lady had to experience such a frightening situation!”

“Uh…? Huh?”

Murmuring voices could be heard around Riel’s dormitory room.

Other students who had woken up seemed to have come to find the cause of the commotion.

“I’ll explain later. I’ll handle the aftermath, so please rest a bit, young lady.”

“Um… okay. You must explain everything later!”

Phyllis left Riel to the dormitory students who had come to see what was happening and began to handle the bodies.

‘But why assassins… Did the young master predict this situation and send me to the young lady’s side…?’

And considering what the assassin had said earlier, there was a high possibility that a similar situation had occurred at the male dormitory as well.

For a moment, Phyllis considered going there too, but soon dismissed the thought.

‘No… if it’s the young master, he would have predicted this situation and handled it calmly and well.’