Chapter 103 – The Assassin and Arloston

“Roglainn!?”

That knife had a chain extending from its hilt. Following the chain with one’s eyes led straight to Kuriya’s right hand.

“Hah!”

“Guh—!?”

When she pulled her right hand back, the knife that had been lodged in Roglainn’s side was ripped free and returned to Kuriya’s grasp.

Without pause, Kuriya swung the chained knife around. It sliced through the air with a hyun hyun sound as she hurled the blade once more.

“Lord Arloston!”

This time, Raibarden stepped forward to shield Arloston, deflecting the knife with his gauntlet. Kuriya showed no sign of agitation as she pulled the knife back again.

Almost simultaneously, Roglainn collapsed to the ground.

“Roglainn! Hang in there!”

“……………………”

“It’s useless. The blade was coated with poison.”

“Wha—”

“I have the antidote. Right here… see?”

Still twirling the knife in her right hand, Kuriya slipped her left hand into her clothing and pulled out a single vial.

It was, without deception, an antidote. Kuriya dealt in poisons, and naturally she kept antidotes on hand in case of emergencies.

“If you use this now, he’ll probably still survive.”

“You bastard…!”

All three of them had prioritized catching up to Kuriya and the others, so none of them were wearing full, proper armor. Arloston in particular was still dressed in his work attire.

As for Roglainn and Raibarden, they wore only light armor centered on the torso. Neither had a full-face helmet, nor were they clad in armor that covered the entire body.

That was precisely why they had been able to catch up so quickly, but… from Kuriya’s perspective, they were far too lightly equipped.

At the very least, if they had been wearing full plate armor, there was a high chance they could have blocked a knife strike.

“If you want it, I’ll give it to you… here!”

Kuriya hurled the bottle containing the antidote straight toward Arloston.

Once again, Raibarden stepped forward and reached out toward the bottle… and at that moment—

“Ugh!?”

A knife stabbed into his right leg. At the same instant she threw the bottle, Kuriya had also thrown a knife, concealing it behind the bottle.

She had briefly considered throwing it upward to draw their attention to the sky, but after seeing Raibarden’s movements earlier, she abandoned that idea.

If thrown upward, it would trace a parabolic arc, inevitably taking time to fall back down to their position. Even if she released a knife in that interval, she judged that Raibarden would simply deflect it again.

But throwing it straight on demanded a split-second decision in response to the oncoming bottle.

A bottle of dubious authenticity, supposedly containing an antidote, being thrown at Arloston—there was no way his escort knight would remain still.

Because Raibarden was a capable knight, Kuriya had been able to predict his movements with ease.

The bottle struck Raibarden’s body and fell to the ground. When Kuriya reeled in the knife lodged in Raibarden’s leg, he collapsed where he stood.

“Raibarden…!”

“Hah hah hah hahah! Now it’s just you left!”

“Guh…!”

“Your escort knights are gone! And once you’re gone too, the Empire—just barely recovering—will be thrown into chaos again! That alone will keep the civil strife going…!”

Once more, Kuriya swung her knife around. With the seasoned escort knights already taken down, killing Arloston now would be absurdly easy.

“Your wife will be used as a plaything by men! As for your daughter, don’t worry, she’ll be treated very carefully over on our side, as a prize to be handed out to subordinates someday!”

“You damn… bastard…!”

“Honestly, it’s your own fault for showing up in a place like this, driven by nothing but impulse and panic! If you’d thought about your position, you should’ve abandoned your wife and daughter and stayed in the Imperial Capital!”

On this point, at least, Kuriya’s argument held some truth.

But Arloston was still young. Upon hearing that his wife and daughter had been abducted, there was no way he could remain still.

‘Was I… was I really that reckless…!?’

With hostages taken, he could neither advance nor retreat. Seeing Roglainn and Raibarden neutralized so easily, he understood that this woman was an exceptional combatant with abnormal abilities.

There had certainly been panic. The swelling sense of impatience must have robbed him of his ability to judge calmly.

Even so, Arloston had been unable to remain in the Imperial Capital, simply waiting for reports.

And as a result, he now stood on the brink of death. If he were to die here, what would become of the Empire that was finally beginning to stabilize?

More than anything, what kind of horrific future awaited his wife and daughter?

“I can’t die here…!”

“Hah! What are you posturing for!? Drop your sword, raise both hands, and don’t take a single step from there! If you don’t follow orders, I’ll start snapping your daughter’s fingers one by one!”

“Guh…!”

“Hurry up! Didn’t you hear me!? …No, never mind. Hey, break a finger.”

Within Arloston’s field of vision, the man curled his lips into a leering grin.

And even now, a thick, large hand gently closed over the small, childish fingers of the still-unconscious Aralicia, enveloping them completely.

“S-stop… stop ittttttttttt!”

Everyone’s awareness converged on Aralicia’s fingers. Arloston’s despair sliced through the air, and at the very moment an inescapable, irrational force was about to be applied to the young girl’s delicate finger—

“Ahf?”

Don… A dull sound rang out. It was far too abrupt. Before anyone realized it, an arrow was protruding from the man’s forehead.

No… it hadn’t merely sprouted there. The arrow had effortlessly pierced straight through the man’s skull, stopping only when it jutted out from the back of his head.

“Ah… h-huh…? M-me… I…?”

Just like that, the man toppled straight backward, his entire body convulsing violently.

And though it had been drowned out earlier by Arloston’s scream, this time it was heard clearly. Something slicing through the wind, rushing toward Kuriya.

“—!”

Instantly identifying the source of the sound, Kuriya precisely judged the trajectory and distance of what was approaching and swung her knife.

The knife, empowered with ample centrifugal force by its chain, succeeded in knocking aside the incoming arrow.

“Who is it!?”

Next, the sound of horses drawing closer followed. There were two of them.

On one rode a woman with a bow at the ready, and on the other, a man clad head to toe in pitch-black armor.