Chapter 9: Square 7: The Red Dress (2)
A chilling gaze burned my eyes, and a cold sensation on my throat made my facial muscles twitch.
"Um... are you saying I’m the enemy or something?"
Elizabeth’s expression didn’t change.
She just kept looking down at me with cold eyes.
"I thought you weren’t that ignorant."
"Eh? No, what are you talking about!
I don’t understand! Explain!!"
"How unfortunate.
I’ve been gathering some information about the northern country lately."
...Northern country? What northern country information!?
Was I saying something that had a landmine in it?
Even if that was the case, I didn’t know much about this country or any other.
"Your outfit is one of the Canary Kingdom’s assassination squad.
That unnecessary and insufficient contact was probably an order to assassinate me."
"I don’t know anything like that!"
My desperate words didn’t reach her.
All I got was a sigh.
"I’ve been observing your movements, so I had a summoner investigate.
Canary Country, the State-Run Assassination Squad, their name is ’Demi-Human Squad.’
They look like normal humans, but their true form is camouflage, you see.
I’ve also found information about members who can change their appearance.
There’s solid eyewitness information about when they attacked the Elf Village a little while ago."
Demi-Human Squad? Canary? Elf Village!?
When they threw unknown information at me, all I could do was "Ah... ugh."
"I didn’t expect you to come dressed exactly as I thought.
When contacting a target, at least change your clothes first.
...It’s weird for me to tell an assassin this, but maybe you should study a little more?"
From what she was saying, I understood why criminals wore business suits.
I couldn’t explain about suits, so I couldn’t clear up the misunderstanding.
This wasn’t the kind of situation where I could say "These are clothes from another world."
It wasn’t the time for that.
"I said I’m not the patient type.
If you don’t want to talk anymore..."
"Sto..... guh."
Elizabeth began putting quiet pressure on the parasol.
A drop of blood seeped from my neck.
I could kick her away and run.
But if I did that, the girl’s family would definitely be killed.
"I’ll talk! I’ll talk, so stop!!"
I couldn’t come up with any other method in my head.
I had to choose between being killed here and running away.
That was the end of a stupid man who couldn’t choose.
"You’ve finally made up your mind?"
The parasol pressed against my throat lifted.
I had avoided death, but I had confessed to a crime I didn’t commit.
From now on, I was just a villain.
I had fallen even lower than I was as an address-unknown unemployed person.
But I guess the guards would gather here now.
If I caused a commotion, those girls would be safe.
I had been so optimistic... but I was a total idiot.
"...Too late."
The words slipped out of my mouth.
I finally realized.
Through the curtain, light wasn’t coming in.
The scenery outside the window was gone.
All I could see was a gray robe.
Eyes were peering in, and I met them.
Nest was quietly and happily smiling while looking into the carriage.
The situation had shifted to the absolute worst.
Elizabeth had noticed, but it was a split second too late.
"Tender!! Pull back for now... yo..."
Nest’s sword swung horizontally right above my head.
The slash that cut the carriage wall in half, Elizabeth dodged it with her body.
But she fell to the floor of the carriage in a pool of her own blood.
"Too bad. Beyonetta bloodline is an obstacle to me, you see.
But that red dress... it suits you so well."
Elizabeth twitched like a broken toy.
Her beautiful neck was spurting blood, dyeing her proud gold dress red.
"No way... Hey! Elizabeth!!"
"Well then... Where do you want me to cut you?"
The worst woman who had sliced through the carriage wall in an instant appeared.
Nest had a relaxed expression as she wiped the blood from her curved blade.
Because the wall was gone, the young servant holding the reins was cut down, his head falling off.
No one left to help.
There was no place to run, the floor was slippery with blood.
Elizabeth, who had fallen at my feet, wrapped her cooling arm around my ankle as if to say "Don’t leave me behind."
"Are you... going to kill me?"
"Scared? You’re an adult, right?"
"Why kill me?"
"If someone sees the scene, killing isn’t normal, is it?"
Nest gave a thin smile and pointed at a nearby house.
At that sight, my eyes widened.
"St-Stop!!
Don’t touch that house!"
It was the girl’s house I was trying to save.
Right now, the two scary-looking men were breaking down the door and entering the house.
Screams, roars, insane laughter.
...And blood splattered against the window.
"Ufufu~ What?
Were they acquaintances? Sorry~"
I couldn’t save them again.
This time, right in front of me, I couldn’t move even while she was being killed... damn it.
"Well then... your turn now."
She was joking.
But there was nothing I could do.
So... if I had to die here, I’d at least gather information to use later.
Next time I returned, I’d have info to beat her.
"Tell me one last thing... What’s your goal?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You’re looking for something, right?
Tell me as a souvenir from the afterlife?"
Was it painful?
Ignoring my question, Nest chuckled.
"Kids who ask that are rare..."
Nest reached her hand toward my chest.
She stuck her hand in my pocket and checked every pocket on my body.
Nest’s bangs brushed my face, but I didn’t have the energy to brush them away.
I was going to die soon, most things didn’t matter anymore.
"It looks like you don’t have a communication crystal.
Sorry for assuming, Ufufufu."
"So you’ll talk? Or not?"
"This is my apology for doubting you. I’ll answer if you can stand a little."
As she said that, Nest looked back and confirmed the other two hadn’t returned.
Was that information she couldn’t tell her comrades?
If so, she might be about to tell me something very important.
"Tell me what you’re looking for."
"Is it the Dragon King’s gem?
I thought that was already being investigated."
I didn’t expect her to tell me the goal right away.
This might let me extract more information than I thought.
"Then who is the boss of your organization?"
"You really went straight to the question.
Do you know the word ’consideration’?"
"Before I die, I’m considering... what am I supposed to do?"
"Ahahahaha, that’s true too~ Then I’ll make an exception for you."
I did it!!
If I could get the boss’s name, I could finally beat this woman!
"The boss’s name is... Isaac.
He’s based in a town called Albaro in the south."
Unexpectedly, the base was revealed.
With that, I could launch a surprise attack and my tactical options widened.
"Isaac, huh... then next is the name of the executive..."
I was momentarily speechless.
I hadn’t bitten my tongue.
A splash of blood shot up at the right edge of my vision.
The next instant, my right ear was hit with unbearable pain.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
I clutched my ear and crouched down. The severed ear was soaking in a pool of blood on the floor.
"My... my ear... guuu..."
"Sorry~ But I’m getting bored."
"...Bored...?"
"Yeah, you suck."
Nest looked down at me with eyes that never warmed.
"What... what are you talking about...?"
"Souvenir from the afterlife... It’s not something you’re supposed to sound so happy about.
It’s just cross-checking information you couldn’t pass on to your comrades.
Normally you’d cry with regret..."
"Ah..."
Indeed, a souvenir from the afterlife was just self-satisfied garbage.
If you listened to it so happily, you must have a way to connect it to the next step.
That’s what you were saying, right?
...I had been seen through. Everything.
"Too bad. Did you actually bury a communication crystal inside your body?"
"No... that’s not it."
"Is that so? Then let me give you the best piece of information yet."
"...What?"
"Everything I told you so far was bullshit."
"I already know that..."
The next instant, my vision floated up.
By the time I realized it was because my head had been cut off, my consciousness had already faded into darkness.
—-
『Return to Start』
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