episode_0020

“He’s not coming.”

“Did you really think he’d show up?”

“Well, not exactly, but…”

Honestly, if he did come, it’d be a disaster.

I’d lashed out in a fit of anger, but now, in broad daylight, the sheer shame and danger of what I’d just done was sinking in.

“See? I knew it. Young Master, you really—Get down!”

“Wha—?!”

Chris, who had been teasing me with a lazy grin, suddenly grabbed me by the collar and yanked me to the ground.

Clang—

A harsh metallic screech rang out above me.

“What the hell was that?!”

“Uh… Young Master, by any chance, did you do something incredibly offensive while you were at the Academy?”

“I’ve done too much to remember.”

“Look.”

Following Anna’s words, I straightened up and turned to where she was pointing.

“…I don’t see anything?”

Through the patterned gaps of the Academy’s main gate, everything looked perfectly peaceful.

“You can’t see—sigh, I shouldn’t have said anything. Focus your mana into your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

I obediently gathered the mana in my body and channeled it toward my eyes.

“What the hell is that?”

All four people I should never meet were sprinting straight toward me.

I made a quick decision.

“Run!”

“Why? Normally, in a situation like this, I’d assume you did something wrong before suspecting them.”

“This time, I’m actually innocent!”

“Even if you are, past sins don’t just disappear, do they? I thought you came to the Academy prepared to atone for them.”

“I was prepared, but not for this!”

If I’d known they’d chase me down the second they spotted me, I would’ve just stayed holed up at home.

Cecilia’s legs, reinforced with divine power, were bound by Elia, while Chris charged forward with enhancement magic, and Lucella relentlessly fired small paralysis spells at me with mana.

To an outsider, it might look like a group of beautiful girls running toward me—but to me, it felt like a stampede of enraged bulls.

“Help me.”

“Hmm~”

“If we get back to the mansion, I’ll strongly argue to Chris that you’re the best servant and keeping you at arm’s length is like throwing away half your life! Be a bodyguard, a shadow assassin protecting Chris from behind—whatever you want!”

“You should’ve said that sooner~ Hold on tight, Young Master.”

Anna suddenly scooped me up in her arms.

“W-Wait, what are you doing?!”

“Running away. Don’t waste your breath. Against them… Honestly, even if I go all out, I’m not sure we’ll make it.”

Whoosh—

With a light sound, Anna took off at an unbelievable speed.

Thudthudthudthud—

“W-W-W-WHOA! S-Slow down!!!”

“This is me going slow, Young Master. If I were alone, I’d be three times faster.”

“W-Well, slow down more—”

“If you can still say that after looking behind us, I’ll consider it.”

Behind?

I did as Anna said and glanced back.

“……”

I saw demons. The heroines, their faces twisted with something far darker than before, were glaring at me as they gave chase.

Ah… right. They don’t know Anna exists.

I get it—some random girl is taking away the person they should be the ones to apologize to.

But you, my little sister—why are you making that face too?

After several minutes of running, Anna and I had left the Academy grounds and were weaving through crowded streets.

I thought they wouldn’t be crazy enough to chase me this far, but when I looked back, all four were still hot on my trail, as if gates and walls meant nothing to them.

Are they insane?

Yep, they’re insane.

Anna glanced at me as I came to terms with this and said:

“We’re going to get caught at this rate.”

“Caught?”

“I’m an assassin, not a warrior. Of course, if I just left you here, I could make it back to the mansion safely, but—”

“Save me! I’ll do anything!”

If the heroines caught me in that state, not only would my trial stack max out, but I had a feeling something even worse would happen.

“Then at least tell me how! What should I do?”

“…Head to the market. There’s a big one next to the Academy, right? We can lose them there.”

Anna nodded in understanding.

“Let’s go!”

“Huh? Hey! W-W-WHOA?!?!”

In an instant, we left the Academy grounds and entered the marketplace. Without hesitation, Anna leaped forward.

Naturally, since I was in her arms, I was suddenly riding a human rollercoaster.

“Close your mouth, Young Master. You’ll bite your tongue.”

Despite the market being packed, Anna skillfully slipped through the crowd.

“So? Am I useful, Young Master? You’ll put in a good word for me with the Young Lady, right?”

“Stop talking and run!”

Elia and Chris must’ve lost track of Anna, as they’d disappeared at some point.

Then again, those two had always been weak in basic stamina.

The tragedy of backline party members, I suppose.

But the remaining two were different.

“Please, just stop for a moment! I just want to talk!”

“Haa… haa… Please stop! I’m begging you!”

Lucella and Cecilia pleaded desperately, yet they showed no signs of exhaustion as they stubbornly kept running toward me.

Cecilia, reinforcing her body with divine power, and Lucella, naturally strong without any enhancements.

Seeing their backs in battle was reassuring—but facing them head-on made my knees weak.

“What should we do, Young Master? They say they just want to talk…”

“Are you insane? You believe that? Keep running!”

Even if, by some miracle, they did just want to talk, that would still be a minefield for me.

Luckily, we were in the middle of a densely packed market, and Anna had no trouble shaking them off.

“Over there!”

I stopped Anna in front of a small clothing store.

“Huff… huff… That was more effort than I’ve put in for a while.”

“Thanks. Good work. You can go back to Chris now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Wandering around the market with a maid would just make me look more suspicious. I know the way back to the mansion, so don’t worry and go ahead.”

“Hmm… Even so, leaving you alone in a place like this feels wrong.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve lost them, and I can take care of myself. Besides…”

“Besides?”

“I’m not worth kidnapping or killing.”

Even if someone targeted the Grave family’s children, why go after me when they could go after Chris?

I’m the kind of brat where, if taken hostage, my parents would seriously consider cutting their losses rather than paying a ransom.

If I ever became the heir, I’d ruin the entire family. The only reason they haven’t disowned me yet is the thin thread of blood ties.

Hearing this, Anna looked at me with a slightly pitying expression.

“Perceptions are hard to change, huh?”

Flick—

She undid her tied-up hair and handed me a small dagger.

“Wha—?!”

“Honestly, Young Master. You know I’m an assassin, yet you’re startled by this?”

Anna pressed the dagger into my hand. Maybe she thought I could use it for self-defense.

Though small, the dagger clearly held Anna’s concern, warming my heart.

Thanks, Anna.

The words of gratitude tickled the back of my throat.

“It’s a dagger imbued with an explosion spell. The blade itself is ordinary, but the magic inside can level the surroundings.”

“What?”

“In my line of work, you have to prepare for all sorts of situations.”

I stared at Anna intently.

But she must’ve mistaken my gaze—instead of questioning why she gave me this, she took it as doubt about its reliability and eagerly continued explaining.

“Even if it’s a suicide attack, the power is substantial, so don’t worry. At the very least, it’ll take down whoever harms you! It was inspected by three Imperial mages of the first rank! Isn’t it better to drag someone down with you than die alone?”

Anna clenched her fist encouragingly, alternating between looking at me and the dagger in my hand.

Yeah, not thankful at all.

“Uh… got anything else?”

“Huh? Poisons or other magic tools are only for self-termination, so…”

“No, just a normal weapon. Why is my death the default assumption here?”

“I didn’t give you one because it’d be useless.”

“Excuse me?”

“You wouldn’t be able to wield it properly, Young Master. You’ve never seriously trained in dagger combat, nor do you have talent for it. Do you even have a weapon you can use competently?”

“How little do you think of me? Of course I do!”

The Academy teaches basic combat and magic, after all. Plus, I’ve seen and learned techniques from the hero’s party firsthand.

I haven’t had any major breakthroughs yet, but there must be something I can use in my current state.

“So…”

“So?”

“……”

——

“Well, I’ll be going now. Be careful, Young Master. From whatever you need to be.”

In the end, I couldn’t answer before Anna disappeared.

Damn it.