Confrontation (1)

The two intruders who removed their hoods.

As Lilu said, they were elves with long ears.

A male elf holding a bow, and a female elf with daggers at her waist.

Both had green hair and blue eyes.

Their similar appearances made me think they might be siblings.

“Fellow kin of unknown origin, why are you attacking this place?”

Lilu said that, but the male elf silently nocked an arrow.

The female elf put her hand on the dagger at her waist.

“Nothing to say? Fine.”

Lilu also nocked an arrow and glared at the elves.

“I’ll take you on. Come at me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, arrows shot from both their bows.

The spectacle of the two arrows colliding in mid-air with a sharp sound unfolded before my eyes, but there was no time to admire it.

Because the female elf had drawn her weapon and was charging toward me.

“Riel, stand back.”

I drew the sword at my waist.

The sword I received from my father when I returned to my hometown, Arianrod, before.

The female elf held a dagger in each hand in reverse grip and swung them down like she was stabbing.

Clang!!

She was fast, but I managed to parry her attack.

I never thought the training I did with Senior Iris during the Mushin Festival period would come in handy in a situation like this.

Above all, despite wielding daggers, her speed was only slightly slower than Senior Iris’s.

“…!!”

When her first attack was deflected, the female elf’s eyes widened slightly as she took a step back.

She adjusted her grip on the daggers she had been holding in reverse and took a combat stance.

With flowing green hair and impressively large blue eyes.

Though different from Lilu’s type, she was quite beautiful.

…It’s really a problem that she’s an enemy attacking us, though.

Clang!! Clang clang!!

The elf silently lunged forward to attack again.

Her speed was definitely slower than Senior Iris’s.

But with a dagger in each hand, her attack methods had doubled, and her movements were quite different.

If anything, it was fortunate that unlike with ordinary swords, the force behind her daggers was relatively light.

“Kyeong!!”

The doubled attack methods meant I was about to allow a few hits, but each time Baduk’s assistance somehow helped me block them.

Thanks to that, I didn’t allow a single attack to connect.

But the same couldn’t be said for her side.

Whack!!

“…Kuk!!”

I deflected her dagger with my sword and landed a blow to her abdomen.

A clear dirt mark from my shoe appeared on her seemingly delicate abdomen.

The impact must have been significant, as the elf opened her eyes wide and exhaled.

“Blit!!”

“!!”

Timed with her being pushed back by my kick, Riel, who had been waiting behind me, used magic.

The beginner magic ‘Blit.’

Though not powerful, it’s a magic that can be cast quickly and repeatedly.

It also has the characteristic of taking on different attributes depending on the user’s magical nature, so it’s also used for attribute identification.

Befitting her Ignis family bloodline, a flame-attribute bullet hit the elf and caused a small explosion.

“…Kuk.”

She must have hastily used defensive magic.

The elf, enveloped in a dim light, emerged from the explosion and regained her stance.

But it was fine. We had the numerical advantage, and the opponent was clearly being pushed back.

In addition, I was getting somewhat used to her dagger techniques.

If we continued like this, we could subdue her.

That hope was in sight.

“Oh no, more are coming!!”

…If only Lilu hadn’t said that.

Another hooded figure, presumably an elf, dropped down next to the female elf.

Then they removed their hood.

Once again, it was an elf with green hair and blue eyes, who looked nearly identical to the other.

“Sister, you seem to be at a disadvantage?”

“…Rea.”

“Well, they outnumber us, so it can’t be helped. I’ll join in.”

The elf called Rea, who came as reinforcement, took out a weapon from behind her back.

A sword, no. Was it a rapier?

She drew a sword with a thin, sharp blade and stood beside the elf who had been confronting me.

Two of them now.

No matter what, with two opponents, things could get dangerous.

No, I can fight.

But if you ask whether I can fight while protecting Riel, I have to say it’s beyond my current abilities.

So I had to make a decision.

“Baduk.”

“Kyeong!”

“I’ll be fine, so protect Riel.”

“…Kyeong!”

Baduk, who had been staring directly at me for a moment, ran to Riel’s side.

This drastically reduced the probability of Riel taking an effective hit.

Instead, I had to face the two of them without Baduk.

But this was the best option.

I could protect myself from their weapons, but Riel was almost helpless in martial arts.

For Riel to support with magic, it was more certain to direct all protective spirits toward her.

“Come at me, you pointy-ears.”

“Wow, quite the spirit you have there.”

“……”

I tried a provocative taunt, but the elder sister just adjusted her stance without a word, while the younger elf called Rea laughed it off.

I knew my provocation skills weren’t great, but I didn’t expect them to brush it off so easily.

“Ah, if this wasn’t work, I might have enjoyed having a cup of tea with such a decent man. What a shame.”

“Rea, focus on the job.”

“Sister, you’re really so stiff.”

Both of them stood in front of me with their weapons.

I readjusted my grip on my sword and took a stance.

Behind me, I heard Riel swallow.

…I had mostly figured out the movements of the sister with the daggers.

But the movements of the younger sister using a rapier were completely new to me.

…I should be prepared to take a hit or two.

“Well then, let me entertain you a bit, Mr. Human.”

“…Prepare yourself.”

The two of them closed the distance almost simultaneously, as if coordinating their attack.

“You all are from the Rampid clan.”

“……”

Lilu said this as she dodged an arrow shot by the male elf standing in front of her, and nocked and fired an arrow at him.

The male elf didn’t respond and retreated, avoiding the arrow.

The Rampid clan.

One of the minority clans among elves.

Their way of life isn’t settling in forests, but wandering.

And their means of livelihood is none other than mercenary work.

In some sense, they could be considered the elf clan most deeply integrated into human society.

“No point in asking who hired you, you won’t answer.”

“…You know well.”

The male elf finally spoke.

“I wasn’t told one of our targets would be a fellow elf. I may have to lodge a complaint with the client.”

“That’s unexpected. I’ve never heard that the Rampid clan had any sense of kinship.”

Saying this, Lilu dodged the arrow the male elf shot while nocking an arrow herself.

At the same time, the male elf also nocked his next arrow.

For both, it was their last arrow.

“No, it’s just that you’re a troublesome opponent.”

The two arrows collided in mid-air.

Now neither side had any arrows left.

The male elf drew a dagger tied to his leg.

Unlike his younger sister, he used a single dagger technique.

In contrast, Lilu didn’t draw any weapon.

She simply threw away the bow she had been holding.

“…Are you going to fight barehanded?”

“I’ve never used any weapon other than a bow.”

At Lilu’s words, the male elf smiled coldly.

It was almost the first time his emotions were revealed.

“That was quite foolish!”

The male elf charged with his dagger.

As soon as Lilu was within range, he swung his dagger down like a stab.

Lilu hastily dodged, and the male elf immediately followed with his next attack, and the next.

“When using a bow, it’s basic to have a contingency plan for when you run out of arrows, yet you neglected that… I don’t know what clan you’re from, but there’s a limit to idiocy!!”

Shouting this, the male elf unleashed a torrent of thrusts at Lilu.

He planned to keep pressing forward, quickly join his younger sisters, and finish off the rest.

Then eliminate the targets in the mansion.

Just as the male elf was about to deliver his next attack with this in mind:

“Opening.”

“Kheuk!!”

Suddenly, he felt intense pain in his abdomen.

Wondering what happened, he looked down to see his opponent’s fist embedded in his stomach.

“A… a fist…?”

“A contingency plan for when I run out of arrows? Did you seriously think I wouldn’t have one?”

Withdrawing her fist, Lilu immediately spun and swung her leg.

The male elf hastily raised his arm to block Lilu’s kick.

But the kick must have carried considerable force, as the male elf’s body was pushed back significantly.

“I am Lilu Arma. Guardian of Yggdrasil and a member of the honorable warrior clan, the Arma clan.”

“Arma…”

“Don’t underestimate the warriors of our clan, you migratory bird.”

“…What in the world is going on here?”

Upon receiving urgent news, she had rushed to her homeland.

The homeland she arrived at had smoke rising from various places and knights busily moving about.

A major disturbance had occurred, but it seemed to be somewhat under control.

She grabbed one of the knights focused on managing the situation and asked for an explanation.

The sudden seizures and rampages of the patients who had been detained.

And the situation where the knights had stepped in to handle it.

Hearing this story, she felt a sense of unease.

…Clearly the situation was being brought under control, but she felt extremely anxious.

She needed to get home quickly, as soon as possible.

At home would be her mother, her brother, and most precious of all, her younger sister.

Her younger sister, Riel, would be at home.

“Wait for me, Riel.”

Eve Ignis urgently began moving toward the Duke’s mansion she was returning to after so long.