Hitsugi no Chaika - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The light from the half-moon hanging in the night sky gently illuminated the town.

It was already quite late at night—there were no more pedestrians on the roads and most of the surrounding buildings’ lights had gone out for the night. However, around the center of town where the count’s estate sat the majority of buildings still had their lights on. Many of the nobles in this area were wealthy enough that, regardless of whether they used magic or fire to light their homes, they didn’t pay any mind to lighting costs.

“Phew…”

This area of wealthy people looked as if it had been cut from somewhere completely different, and in this area stood a row of ten-foot-tall trees. Formally, yes, it was nothing more than a path lined with trees, but in actuality it was a wall that kept the nobles and common folk separated. It wasn’t like they were necessarily prohibited from moving between each other’s domains, but most people hesitated to cross the barrier simply because it was there. Intentionally crossing it for no reason meant that you were probably either an outsider or an individual with no sense of social awareness.

And so, right now…

“What an incredibly gaudy building.”

A young boy—no, a young man with a sour expression was currently atop of one of the trees. Even though he risked sustaining a grievous injury were he to fall from that height,he was standing on a narrow branch with his arms folded as though it were completely natural, without having to cling to the trunk at all.

He had an unreal sense of balance.

His clothes were dark in color. As for why he wasn’t in total pitch-black attire, it was part of his camouflage. With the dim light the moon and stars were currently giving out, wearing all black would create a human-shaped hole in the viewer’s vision and be much more conspicuous.

Tohru Acura.

He scanned the countless rows of buildings, zeroing in on the center of the town—the center building, the mansion of the count Roberto Abarth.

It was called a “mansion”, but by nature it was a stronghold. Thanks to the long wars, every one of the nobles’ mansions had this function. The end of the warring period brought about various changes in their ornamentation, probably in order to reform to a more elegant appearance and seem less threatening at a glance. But because their basic foundation and structure were that of a stronghold, they were quite durable and complicated, and of course were heavily guarded. Holes had been drilled in the walls through which the guards could fire arrows and magic, and if you looked closer you could see that there were watchtowers and such on all four corners. Even now it was impossible to tell whether or not guards were stationed there day and night, but…

“Hm…”

In his mind, Tohru created a rough blueprint of the place.

A saboteur’s training included something called “fort-capturing”, which was basically a technique used to capture strongholds. Of course, capturing an entire fortress alone was impossible, but going ahead of the main force,commencing destructive maneuvers, and making general preparations that would leave the enemy vulnerable were all part of the saboteur’s trade.
Tohru too had the ability to ascertain the inner structure of a building from things like outward appearance and location. Put simply, it was the same process a group of carpenters would follow in creating the blueprint of a building during a survey, except done mentally.

“Here…and here…That should probably be it,” he muttered, scratching his cheek while completing the blueprint in his head.
“Geez. I definitely didn’t think we’d be scheming around with the count as our opponent.”

“Are you hesitant to do this, Nii-sama?”

A voice came from under his feet.

“Who’s ‘hesitant’?” Tohru asked, continuing to focus on the mansion.

With agility that would put even a monkey to shame, a female figure began to scramble up the tree, moving her light body along the branches. Of course, it was none other than Akari Acura. She got to the other side of the tree trunk, stood on a branch opposite Tohru and turned towards him.

“No, of course you wouldn’t be. My cherished and respected Nii-sama wouldn’t hesitate to go up against anyone. My apologies. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I…see.”

“If it was Nii-sama, even if you had no weapon and you had absolutely nothing to protect your body—not a scrap of clothing, as naked as the day you were born—I’m sure that you still wouldn’t hesitate, even if you were facing off against a million troops.”

“…That’s just moronic, in all sorts of ways.”

In exactly what sort of premise would I be stark naked!? was the most pressing question he had. They had been raised as if they were real siblings, and yet Tohru had never been able to figure out what that girl was thinking at any given moment. She seemed to be angry for some reason, yet she continued to have no expression as she spoke.

“Ridiculous. You might be my Nii-sama, but I will not allow you to belittle my Nii-sama.”

“…Forgive me. You’re the real moron.”

“As long as you understand.”

“You’re okay with that?” Tohru groaned. But then, he cut that idiotic conversation short.

“Anyway, Akari. How does the west side look?”

“Not much different from over here. Well, it would be hard to use ‘fort-capturing’, but at any rate the count’s mansion is probably still packed with guards even though the war’s over. With the long war winning him accolades and such, it’s likely that this count also received medals of honor, and so he must be quite rich. That would probably give him the coin needed to hire some guards.”

“Is that so? This guy, winning accolades in wars?”

“Nii-sama, it really would be prudent for you to open up your ears a little more to the rumors of the world.”

“Well, sorry. I’m just a hikkikomori, after all,” Tohru said rather sulkily, though that kind of behavior was expected of him.

Truthfully, since crossing through Del Solant he had only ventured outside the house for the minimum amount of time necessary. Naturally, there was a difference in how the neighbors perceived him and how they perceived Akari, who made it a point to go outside the house and maintain her relationship with them. In fact, she seemed to be much closer to the organization of fellow refugees as a result.

“That may be, but even I’ve picked up a lot of random trivia about sex.”

“I wouldn’t brag about that—wait, if that were the case, shouldn’t you know more about that kind of thing?”

“No. I have an abundance of knowledge in lovemaking, but it is not grounded in any real experience.”

“Then what good is that?”

In terms of theory, my knowledge is flawless. If it were Nii-sama, I’m confident I could take you down with one shot.”

“That’s exactly the kind of thing you shouldn’t brag about.”

Tohru, with his eyes half-closed, sent a gaze full of disgust towards his sister, who had puffed her chest out when she had spoken.

But as expected, it didn’t seem to bother her at all. Changing the subject, she continued to speak.

“In the aforementioned wars, during the battle of the Gaz Empire, I heard that the current head of the family Roberto Abarth cut through the vanguard and stormed the emperor’s castle all by himself. Apparently there are many who even call him a ‘hero’.”

“So the count is a pretty swell fighter then, huh?” muttered Tohru.

A noble of Roberto’s stature would usually take along a sword when wearing formal attire, but that didn’t necessarily mean they could use it well. In that way they were quite different from cavaliers and the like—regardless of how successful their families were in their military exploits, in general very few of them actually went out on the front lines.

On the other hand, the nobles that actually did mix in with the front lines due to major battles often turned out to be quite the experts in military affairs and martial arts. Of course, those nobles were merely talented people appointed to positions like “attendant” and “close aide”, probably in case the people they were attended to were complete idiots.

“If that’s the case…then it’s as I thought.”

Tohru took a quick step forward.

It seemed like a casual movement, but of course with there being no branch and only empty sky, he continued to face directly below him as he started to fall. However, Tohru wasn’t panicked or troubled by this. Instead he extended his arms and grasped several branches on the way down, decreasing his velocity further each time. Then he landed on the base of the tree without making even a bit of noise.

In the next instant, Akari did the same thing and landed.

“This situation is more like we were hired to be Chaika’s support.”

“Seems that way, Nii-sama.”

While the two walked together, Akari spoke.

“This little girl—do you really think it’s okay to trust her?”

“You say ‘little girl’, but there’s not that big of a difference between you and her.”

“My chest is bigger.”

“Why don’t you talk normally about something for once?”

Tohru glared at her, eyes half-lidded.

“Besides, she’s our client, right? We have to trust her.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I was referring to her skill as a wizard.”

“Ah, that. Come to think of it, you haven’t seen it, have you?” Tohru muttered.

Chaika’s magic skill—Tohru had seen it, and it was quite something. Of course, Tohru had no aptitude for magic so he didn’t understand the details, but…during the fight with the unicorn, the situation had required Chaika to use magic, and she had done it without messing up at all, even in such a dire situation. Tohru valued that above anything else.

She had said she had a diverse range of advanced spells, but that the odds of her failing due to mental instability were pretty high.

She had also said it was only a single simple spell, but that it was reliable in a number of different situations.

“I think it’s good enough.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, somehow…”

Wait, what?

When he had decided that, he had done so consciously, and earnestly to boot.

When he had said it was “good enough”, he had probably done so with an unwavering heart.

For he who had no “core”, no idea how to spend his days, someone void of doubt like Chaika was blindingly dazzling to him.

“Anyway, that girl’s more than she appears to be.”

“I see.”

For some reason Akari nodded, as if understanding something.

“Things are sometimes larger than they initially appear, Nii-sama.”

“What are you referring to?”

“My chest, of course.”

“…You know, you’re a real idiot,” Tohru replied sharply.

“Huh? But if I were to undress, it’d be a pretty “big” deal, no?”

“I was talking about magical aptitude! Besides, aren’t you making this about yourself!?”

“Don’t get so angry, Nii-sama. It was merely a joke.”

“I can’t tell whether you’re joking or not!”

With that facial expression that didn’t change very much, it was particularly hard to tell.

Continuing with that kind of conversation that was par for the course for the pair, they headed back towards their house, where Chaika was waiting.

 

They came home to a battlefield.

In other words, a wretched scene.

“…”

When Tohru entered the room, he froze instantly.

Beside him stood Akari, expressionless as usual.

Before both their eyes was—

“…Uuu.”

Chaika, but she wasn’t standing or sitting down. She was sprawled on the floor.

For some reason, her head was covered in some sort of sticky substance, and tableware and wrecked furniture was toppled and scattered everywhere. It was easy to get the false impression that some kind of explosion had taken place, or some kind of powerful magic had been used. Well, the house had already been ruined, so the furniture was in terrible shape to begin with.

“Messed up.”

While saying that, Chaika stood up.

She turned towards the two nonplussed siblings standing in the doorway, and promptly gave them a big smile.

“Good evening. No, welcome back, should say.”

“‘Welcome back’, my ass. You—what the hell happened here?” said Tohru.

By the way, even though the clearly younger Chaika was now technically his boss, Tohru was still addressing her as “you”, but that matter could be set aside for now.

“Dinner, tried to make. Messed up.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Tohru replied sarcastically.

Next to him, Akari’s gaze seemed unusually scathing. Despite confidently telling Akari that the girl was “more than she appeared to be,” even Tohru was almost speechless after such a disaster.

“I knew you were clumsy in a lot of ways, but this is just…”

Tohru thought back to the first time he met her.

When that girl was running every which way in an attempt to escape him, and then of all things doing something as stupid as coming back to him right before his eyes, she had done so completely earnestly. In order to use magic it was probably incredibly important to maintain a state of concentration, but perhaps he should have considered the possibility that she was a complete scatterbrain in everyday life.

“Bread. Baking. Mistake.”

For some reason she hit her chest with a seemingly proud gesture.

“Explain to me how a mere ‘mistake’ can turn into a disaster like this.”

“Misjudged, intensity of heating magic. So, mistake,” she said, flashing a bright smile.

This kind of cute behavior was something that was expected from someone her age…no, on second thought, this was probably a bit too cute. Looking at the situation from a calm, objective point of view, it was mostly all the bread dough sticking to her head that made this quite the spectacle.

It seemed that when not under pressure, she was somehow a failure at magic. Or perhaps the incident with the unicorn had just been a fluke. Tohru did not want to entertain that possibility.

“Also, did you really go out of your way to buy wheat?”

“Ingredients, none.”

“Gu…”

Tohru had nothing to say to that.

It was true that they had no ingredients. If there had been plenty of ingredients in the house, Tohru and Chaika never would have met in the first place.

“Well, this is just…”

Perhaps she simply didn’t know anything about the fermentation process of bread dough.

But that was irrelevant for now…

“Right now, we need to figure out what we’re going to do from tomorrow onwards, so we want to discuss our plans in advance. Go wash up or get ready or whatever. If you go out and to the right, there’s a water jug you can use.”

“Understood.” She nodded vigorously and headed outside.

While standing there and watching until she went out of sight—

“I see now,” Akari said as she nodded.

“Don’t even say it.”

“Nii-sama, I never knew you were into slightly careless girls.”

“I said, shut up!”

“However, Nii-sama. Rest easy. I’m confident that when it comes to who is the most careless, I am second to none.”

“As if I could rest easy!”Tohru moaned.

* * *

The Gillette Corps’ vehicle was parked in the town square in the center of Del Solant. For Gillette’s team, who were forced to go on reconnaissance for extended periods of time, the large “April” vehicle doubled as both a way for them to get around and a place for them to live. After their meeting with Roberto Abarth, the plan was to return to “April” where they were to meet up with Mattheus Callaway, who had done some preliminary scouting. Then they were to enter a meeting to discuss future strategies.

That had been the plan, anyway.

“What happened?”

Mattheus was still wiping the camouflage paint off his face with a towel as he spoke. Normally, the camouflage paint covered from his chin up to the top of his bald head, which made him look more like a wizard. However, without the paint, his charming narrow eyes and round face became more apparent.

He gazed at the interior of the main cabin, looking somewhat baffled.

In the traditional housing parlance, this room would be considered the “living room”—it was used as a multipurpose room for everything from meetings to meals. The driver’s cabin was located to its front, and behind it were the bedrooms–each of which were about as big as a cubby hole, followed by the cargo hold.

Setting that aside…

“Can you not tell just by looking?”

The cavalier Alberic Gillette replied, fatigue showing on his well-featured face.
The members of Gillette Corps were all sitting on a sofa in the main cabin, looking like they were at the end of their ropes. There wasn’t a single smiling face among them—however, there was one that looked much more severe than all the others, and that was Vivi Holopainen’s.

Along with Zita, Vivi was one of the youngest girls in the Gillette Corps. She was sitting backwards in her seat, so Mattheus could only see her back from his position. As she was sitting there she was throwing things at a small piece of wood leaning against the wall.

What, exactly, was she throwing? Needles.

The last needle that she had thrown and embedded into the wood was actually her tenth or so. The characters for “Roberto Abarth” had been hastily carved into the wood, as well as a poorly-done set of facial features.

This kind of action gave the impression that was some serious hostility or hatred in the air.

Mattheus nodded.

“Ah, so more of the usual then?”

“Yes, I suppose that it’s basically more of the usual,” said Nikolay Autotor, Gillette Corps’s second-in-command.

The stern, heavily-built man looked very much like a soldier. He pointed over in Vivi’s direction.

“This time, the meeting was incredibly short. So it makes sense that she’s in a bad mood.”

“Haha…”

Mattheus looked in Vivi’s direction once more.

He could still only see her back, but it wasn’t hard to guess that she was scowling with that immature face of hers. Being a young assassin, she was able to suppress her emotions scarily well when she was working, but as soon as she was free they all came spilling out.

“It was six minutes and seventeen seconds long, to be precise.”

Zita, who had been with Vivi and Alberic when they had gone to Roberto Abarth’s mansion, spoke. She too looked quite young, and wore large glasses on her face.
“That’s a new record, isn’t it?”

“Whaaat?”

Vivi puffed out her cheeks and turned to look at Zita.

Even though Viviwas throwing the needles with incredible skill,an expression like thatmade her look more her age—no, actually, it made her look even younger than she already was.

“Don’t act like it’s somebody else’s problem. You were plenty mad too, Zita.”

“Ahaha. But you’re mad enough for both of us, Vivi. I’m satisfied just from that.”
Zita displayed an easygoing smile.

The two were completely different when it came to things like their birth, the way they were brought up, andtheir title, yet somehow when together they were like sisters. Sure, the two were both females in Gillette Corps and similar in age,but even so they seemed to get along quite well with each other.

“As always, I apologize to both of you.”

A wry smile crept up on Alberic’s face.

“I realize this incident made you rather upset. But still, going there by myself without some kind of attendant would have looked way too suspicious. Oh well, there’s always a next ti—”

“Gillette-sama.”

Vivi gave a big sigh.

“It’s because you’re like that, Gillette-sama, that—”

“Eh? W-wait, it’s actually my fault!?”

Alberic blinked rapidly in confusion, looking around to his comrades as if seeking some sort of explanation, but—

“Gillette-dono.”

Nikolay said with a grin.

“Really, how do you not realize? Vivi and Zita aren’t upset because the count treated them rudely.”

“Huh?”

Alberic tilted his head.

It seemed like he really didn’t understand.

“Gillette-dono, you’re—”

“Stop right there! Shut up!”

Vivi waved her hand, fast enough to create a whooshing sound.

In the next instant, Nikolay held his hands up in front of his face and made a quick motion like he was wiping off a window.

“That was close.”

In the palm of Nikolay’s his massive hand—no, actually between his fingers, there was a single needle.

Nikolay had caught in midair what Vivi had thrown at him. No matter how you looked at it, to do something like that simply by eyeballing where the object was going was a superhuman feat. However, Nikolai showed no sign of being proud of it, and none of the others seemed to be surprised at all.

Instead—

“Shut up! Silence! Stupid-Niko!”

She was blushing a bit as she shouted.

Zita, too, was blushing slightly, eyes downcast, when—

“What have I done wrong?”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, per se. Actually, it’s the opposite…”

Nikolay said, keeping his hand raised as if he was swearing an oath, the needle still between his fingers.

“…On second thought, please pay it no mind.”

“…? Okay, if you say so.”

Though a bit of bewilderment still remained on his handsome face, he gave a nod.
Mattheus, who had been observing this scene, looked up at the ceiling and sighed—
“It looks like everything’s the same as usual,” he said.

Having to deal with uncooperative nobility. Vivi’s displeasure. Even Alberic’s extreme blockheadedness. All of it.

To tell the truth, Gillette Corps was rarely actually welcomed by anyone they visited.

Perhaps many of them thought that Gillette Corps were merely swindlers that gave off the impression of nobility. And to be honest, that was a reasonable thing to think. After all, to be told something like “We can’t divulge the details because it’s dangerous, but we need you to hand over your family’s treasure” and then actually comply with the request was something only the most idiotic of idiots would do, or perhaps just someone who had abandoned all common sense to embrace eccentricity.

“Count Abarth did treat us like fellow nobles, though,” Alberic said as he shrugged his shoulders.

“This isn’t good,” Mattheus said. “There’s no question that she has entered this city. Based on her movements, she seems to be going after Abarth himself.”

“Most likely,” commented Alberic.

“But of course, explaining the situation to him would be impossible.”

“Naturally,” Alberic replied bitterly. “For the time being, I have asked Leonardo to head to Abarth’s place on observation. If anything happens, it would be best for us to rush there immediately. However, something seems strange about that mansion.”

“Strange?”

“It’s unusual, but there don’t seem to be a lot of guards there. Well, that’s not true; they all seem to be outside the mansion. There have been almost no guards stationed inside. Even all the guardrooms are outside. I get the strange feeling that it wasn’t like that originally…”

He closed his eyes as if trying to remember something.

“Well, whether or not she can actually make it to Abarth’s mansion is anyone’s guess. However, there’s also the issue of what happens if she makes a mistake and gets herself captured by Abarth.”

“Well, in regards to that…”

Mattheus frowned.

“It could be that she has a few pawns under his control. And quite skilled ones at that.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The unicorn I bound together with magic and used…was killed.”

At those words, all of Gillette Corps’ expressions changed.

Even Vivi, who was in the middle of throwing another needle, stopped and turned to look at Mattheus.

“I thought she was alone. So because I happened upon her in my field of vision, I thought it best to attack. Then…”

“‘Happened upon her in your field of vision?’ Don’t be silly. What kind of magician could kill a unicorn at such close range?” Nikolay said with a puzzled expression.

“The magic destroyed it with one direct hit, and it was her magic that did it. There was someone who was buying time for her to charge the spell. If they’re still accompanying each other, there could be trouble.”

“…”

Alberic and the others exchanged glances.

“Still, if all of us went we would stand out. Vivi, Nikolay, I’m sorry, but make the preparations. We shouldn’t need to go as far as to cause a quarrel at Count Abarth’s mansion, but if worse comes to worse we have to be ready.”

“Understood.”

Nikolay nodded, and Vivi hopped off of the sofa.

 

It took half the day for them to gather all the tools necessary for the job.

When they had left the Acura village most of their tools had been in good condition, but the passage of time had been unkind to them. Some had fallen victim to moisture and others were either broken or corroded to the point of being unusable. None of their consumable items had been preserved either. They would have to re-acquire what they needed in Del Solant, and if that wasn’t possible then they had no choice but to buy the base materials and make repairs.

Tohru had gone on a bare-bones shopping trip with some money Chaika loaned him. When he got back,Chaika was opening up her strange coffin-like case. He watched her take her Gundo out, and begin to tinker with it.

“Welcome back,” she said, turning to look at Tohru.

It looked like Akari was busy setting up in another room. Saboteurs didn’t just use melee weapons— at times they would use poison, sleeping pills, or even strong acid that was often sealed away behind a lock. There weren’t many that sold those sorts of substances, however, so they were often forced to mix and compound them on their own.

Any errors made during the handling or mixing of the substances could have disastrous results. For that reason it was best to do all the alchemy in a different room, alone, as often as possible.

That aside—

“Ah…I’m home,” Tohru said.

“…?”

Chaika looked at him and tilted her head, probably because she realized Tohru had been watching her.

“Problem?”

“Nah, it’s nothing. So anyway, what the hell is that coffin?”

“…”

At Tohru’s words, Chaika turned to look at the coffin that was now leaned against the wall.

“Or rather, what the hell are you? Wanting to steal something from the count’s mansion isn’t a normal desire—and besides, what’s the big idea behind you carrying that coffin everywhere you go?”

If she was only carrying a Gundo, that would make at least a bit more sense.

The coffin was too big to be used as a sleeping bag, and besides, a foldable cloth sleeping bag would be more than sufficient. Furthermore, the coffin appeared to be virtually empty.

“Coffin, is coffin,” Chaika said. “Vessel, for deceased.”

“Isn’t it empty, though?”

“For now,” Chaika replied, her facial expression not changing in the slightest.

She spoke as if the coffin was reserved for someone.

But who?

It probably wasn’t an enemy of some kind. If that were the case, there would be no point to mourn for them.

Yet it was also hard to imagine it being a close friend. If it were someone close to her, then one would think she would want them to keep on living. Now of course if they were already dead, then that was a different story…but if that were true, then it didn’t make any sense for the coffin to still be empty. Perhaps she had heard about her acquaintance’s death from afar? But then why did she take special care to carry the coffin with her?

Perhaps—this coffin was meant for someone who would eventually die.

For instance—perhaps Chaika herself?

“Who’s the coffin for, then? Someone who’s going to die? Or someone who’s already dead?”

“…”

Chaika merely shook her head.

It was quite ambiguous. Did that mean that she couldn’t say? That she didn’t know? Tohru was about to press her further when—

“Thing, I need to do.”

Chaika spoke, plainly.

“Something that you need to do…”

“Thing, I need to do. Mission. Duty. Objective. Absolutely must do. Even if, takes lifetime.”

She gave a sweet smile.

“Must persevere.”

“…”

Tohru was at a loss for words.

Chaika didn’t doubt herself in the slightest.

This younger girl had already found a purpose in life, and was heading towards it of her own free will.

In comparison, what was he doing?

Up until this point, he had been denied his life as a saboteur…without even knowing if it was the right thing for him to do, he had continued to seclude himself in this rural town. Compared to Chaika, he looked downright pathetic.

“…Tohru?”

Even though Tohru’s expression hadn’t changed, she had probably picked up on it.

She stopped tending to her Gundo, and worriedly peered into Tohru’s face.

“Tohru, strong.”

The silver-haired girl said it quite out of the blue.

“…Huh?”

“Makes best of, all sorts of things.”

“Ah—you mean my saboteur skills, huh?”

“Yes.”

Chaika nodded.

“Goals, can choose. From many.”

He could see how some people could think that.

Saboteurs were people of the “anything-goes” mentality on the battlefield.

Hand-to-hand combat. Knowledge of how to mix chemical explosives. The ability to spread rumors. Not to mention knowing how to rile up people, how to construct strongholds, how to ration and store food—these skills and more were all part of the job. They were responsible for all the dirty jobs that soldiers and knights, who faced each other head-on, simply could not do.

To some people, all these skills would also probably seem quite useful for everyday life.

Even if becoming an expert in each of these things was out of the question, if he started seriously applying himself now it would be good enough. If a saboteur felt like it, he could become a hunter, a carpenter, a blacksmith, a merchant, or anything else, really. The potential for a multitude of skills meant that aiming for the top in any of them was probably impossible, but still, it was more than enough to sustain a living.

However—

“I…”

Without knowing why, Tohru felt compelled to tell her his story.

He had never spoken about this face-to-face with anyone; not even Akari. Though they were raised in the same village, so she had probably already picked up on it.

“…I want to leave behind some kind of proof that I lived.”

“…Proof?”

“Yeah. Being born, living, dying…I want some kind of meaning to all that.”

…………..

The village of Acura was a small village in the valley.

To be precise, it was actually a few small neighborhood villages that were collectively referred to as “the village of Acura.” At any rate, it wasn’t very open to the public.

Their only connection to the rest of the world was one narrow road, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was a secluded village. But as one might expect, if they completely cut themselves off from everyone else, they wouldn’t be able to maintain their livelihood, and so in order to do their jobs properly they had to ensure they had a constant source of information and intelligence.

And so it became necessary to allow a certain group of merchants to enter the village on a fixed schedule as “acquaintances”.

The merchants showed up once a month. To the children of the Acura village who spent day after day in rigorous training, there were few greater pleasures. The merchants brought with them news of the outside world, and to Tohru and Akari, it was a wonderful world like something out of a dream. Whenever they had a break in their training, the children would gather around the merchants and ask them all sorts of things. In this group of merchants was a woman named Jasmine Orlo.

She was a traveling merchant by nature, having been born and raised in the group. That nature had been so ingrained into her mother that she actually ended up giving birth to her while on the road, in the caravan. She didn’t have any particular place she could call “home”; she was a nomad whose only home was the road. But, she seemed to be quite proud of that fact.

“It’s okay to just live life peacefully.”

She would say.

She would turn her attention to the young saboteurs-to-be, who innocently dreamed of being on the battlefield someday,playing an indispensable role in the fight.
“See all sorts of different places. Observe and experience all sorts of different things. By doing that, you will be satisfied.”

“But in that case, there would be nothing to leave,” said Tohru, who was very young at that time.

Jasmine’s view of life, her path to happiness—there was no way Tohru would agree with that.

“When I die, I won’t have left anything behind.”

“That’s not true,” said Jasmine with a smile. “I don’t need to fight on the battlefield to leave something behind. All the people I meet will remember the things I did. Perhaps—”

Her cheeks flushed slightly red, and she patted her stomach.

“When my child is born, that child will be proof that I lived. When that child has children, my grandchildren will be proof that I lived. That’s because…just like that, our lives are all connected.”

At the time, Tohru didn’t realize that she had fallen in love with another member of the same group she belonged to, nor that she was already carrying that person’s child.

And Tohru’s failure to realize that was only a depressing fact now.

Jasmine had probably been his first love.

Of course, looking back on this ten years later, it probably hadn’t been romantic love. It was more the type of pseudo-love a kid would harbor towards a parent or close adult friend of the opposite sex. Without being able to understand why, from the bottom of his heart Tohru had wanted to observe Jasmine’s happiness.

At any rate…

After that, the group Jasmine was traveling with only came to Acura village two more times; however, each time Jasmine’s stomach became even more inflated. Each time she and Tohru met, both she and her husband were having distant conversations about the baby on the way.

However—

…………..

“On the third time they came to the Acura village…Jasmine died.”

“…Died!?”

Most likely, after that buildup with the bittersweet story of first love, she was hoping for a much more pleasant outcome. Suddenly Chaika looked startled at the words tumbling out of Tohru’s mouth.

“She was attacked. It was some bandits or something, ; I’m not really sure.”

The group of merchants had been annihilated.

Jasmine’s parents and her husband were both killed. Judging from the weapons that were used, it was probably a group that had defected from the military. Because they frequently traveled through remote regions, the merchant group had hired several bodyguards and were armed; despite this, they were outnumbered.

“Even now, I remember it like it was yesterday.”

He had seen it over and over again in his dreams.

From playing repeatedly in his head countless times, the memory had already taken root. Even if he wanted to forget it, he would never be able to.

The memory had been carved into his soul—that was his cross to bear.

* * *

“Aaahh…Ahhh…Agghh…”

Already, Jasmine had ceased being able to form words, and all that leaked out of her mouth were moans.

In fact, how she was still able to make any noise at all was a mystery—truly a marvel worth mentioning. Tohru knew that sometimes when humans were tenacious enough, the results could exceed reason or common sense, but even so there was a limit to that. The fact that Jasmine continued to cling to life even now was nothing short of a small miracle, because a spear was sticking out of her delicate body. She had been pierced in the center of her back, with only the spearhead poking out of her stomach.

It was more like she couldn’t die. Even though passing away would be much more comfortable, leaving this world was too much for her to bear.

“Aggghh…Aaa…Ah…”

Jasmine was cradling a tiny lump of cloth delicately in both hands.

Wrapped in the cloth was, unbelievably—

“Aaaahh…Ah…Ah…”

The most important thing to her—her baby.

Jasmine, who had been carrying a small life within her since the beginning of the new year, had finally given birth.

But—it was already too late.

“…Ah…Ah…”

Perhaps Jasmine hadn’t realized it.

Or, perhaps she had realized it, and simply chose to ignore it.

The baby had died before its mother had.

It was only natural. After all, babies died from the slightest things. Looking at the tragedy that had befallen Jasmine, there was no way the baby could have come out unscathed.

“…”

As if wishing for a miracle to save her dead child, she continued to hold the bundle reverently as she staggered.

As if to say, “at least save the child,” she faced Tohru, who stood there dumbstruck, and presented him with the baby, who was already cold to the touch.

Her lips trembled, and she could barely muster the energy to speak.

“P…le…ase…”

Jasmine had now used up everything she had.

Or perhaps, to put it better, this wounded girl had already run out of energy and died a while back, and by some strange occurrence she was being kept alive—like some kind of afterimage.

And so, just like that, all that remained were two dead bodies.

No, that’s not quite right. Even their corpses would sooner or later decay, fall apart, and eventually disappear.

That was what the end result was.

For good deeds. For valuable miracles.

Anything and everything would all return to zero.

That was all there was to it.

It was nothing more than a constant, everyday occurrence, and it held true everywhere in the world.

Living. Dying. Living. Dying.

Before him was just a meaningless, repetitive cycle.

You couldn’t leave anything behind by merely living.

There was no point to being born into this world.

That was why—

 

With a long sigh, Tohru continued his story.

“We viewed the attack on the merchants who had come to our village the same way we would a direct attack on us. Though we hadn’t wouldn’t go so far as to call them family, they were people we had cooperated with. So, to ensure that nothing like this ever happened again, we decided it was necessary to make an ‘example’ out of the perpetrators.”

Saboteurs weren’t bound to the rules of any country.

They would sell out their talent to anyone who desired it.

And so there was no way they would let anyone get away with slaughtering one of their partners. They would mercilessly crush the perpetrators with everything they had. It was for the safety of the Acura village, but it was also a good way for them to showcase the skills they had for sale.

“All together, we found the bandits or whatever they were—the bunch of guys that had attacked Jasmine’s group—and annihilated them. We killed every one of them, and left their bodies on the road for all to see.”

“Enemy, destroyed?”

“Yeah.”

Tohru nodded his head gloomily.

Sure, they had destroyed the enemy. Though they weren’t able to tell which one of them had personally killed Jasmine and her child, they made sure that all of them got their just desserts. Tohru, too, had participated in the annihilation of the bandits, though he was limited to just standing watch.

“But that didn’t bring Jasmine or her child back to life. She had died pointlessly without leaving anything behind, and there was nothing we could do about it.”

“…”

Chaika only blinked in apparent surprise.

Tohru continued on, rather self-deprecatingly.

“And so that’s why…I wanted to change the world itself.”

“…World?”

“I wanted to leave behind proof that I had lived. Using all my own strength, I wanted to accomplish something that I could leave for the future. I wanted to keep going until my spirit had burnt out.”

That was at least better than wishing for peace and stripping away your tusks and fangs, only to vanish pointlessly.

In those turbulent times, he would rather leave a scratch on the world before dying.

That was what he had thought.

“And that’s why I’m a saboteur. I didn’t know of any other path. And for that reason, I trained like my life depended on it. Really.”

Literally, he had trained to the brink of death.

Like he had been obsessed with it—

“I looked forward to my first battle. I could do things that the average knight or soldier couldn’t. I didn’t want honor or accolades. I—just wanted to feel that I had changed the world in some way.”

It was for that reason, he had thought, that he had been born in the Acura village.

Telling himself that over and over, Tohru continued to push through his rigorous training.

But—

“Then, the war ended.”

“…”

“Combat became frowned upon.”

The saboteur skills that Tohru had continued to polish—the only “means of changing the world” that he had at his disposal—were suddenly prohibited. On top of that, saboteurs were now on the run from influential people who regarded them as “fear-mongerers who disturb the peace.”

It was true that saboteurs were well-versed in many things. But as expected, their true strength could be brought out only on the battlefield—without that he couldn’t change the world. With his skills he could do something like slice potatoes and radishes, but for cooking purposes a kitchen knife was much more suitable—like how you couldn’t use a sword for its intended purpose anywhere but in combat.

A sword without a battlefield was completely useless.

And so, that was the story. He didn’t see any benefit in changing his mind after all this time. From then on he hadn’t engaged in any more superficial training.

“I—”

“Tohru.”

Chaika called his name as if she had just now realized something.

“…What?”

“…”

Chaika extended her hand and placed her palm upon Tohru’s shoulder.

“Jasmine-san. Meaning, existed.”

“…Huh?”

“Tohru, remembers. Will be, on Tohru’s mind. Always.”

“…”

That was—

Jasmine had also said something like that.

“All the people I meet will remember the things I did.”

That’s right. He couldn’t forget that.

Then, she asserted more strongly—

“Sad story. But…”

Chaika slid her hand off of Tohru’s shoulder and across his back. Then with both arms, she embraced his body and clung to him.

“Wait…what are you…!?”

“Surely, reason for Tohru saving me.”

As if her hand was searching for something, she began to stroke Tohru’s back.

Across the wound that he had received from the unicorn, which had still not healed.

“…Huh?”

This was an unexpected development.

But—if he thought about it more, it was—

“I…?”

Back on the mountain, when they had first met, Tohru probably could have just abandoned Chaika and made a run for it. At the very least, if he hadn’t tried to protect her, he probably wouldn’t have received that wound. It really was a spur-of-the-moment thing—but why exactly did he act on such a whim?

Saboteurs prized rationality just as much as they avoided honor and accolades.

That meant that sometimes they were despised as heartless and cruel people.

If a saboteur was going to as far as to expose himself to danger to save another person, there had better be a good reason for doing it.

But at that time, Tohru had risked his life to protect a girl he had only just met. What reason did he have for doing that? Rather, in that situation, ditching the stupid girl and escaping would have been the more rational option by far. So why had he not decided to do that?

“I—”

Chaika couldn’t be more different from Jasmine.

As a matter of fact, one would be hard-pressed to find any similarities between the two.

But…still…

“To Jasmine-san. Am grateful.”

Chaika said, still embracing Tohru.

With her right hand, she gently caressed the wound on Tohru’s back.

“…”

Tohru was at a loss for words.

Chaika’s reasoning was rather high-handed, as if she was trying to force a cause from the effect by making it up on the spot. Even if the Jasmine incident never happened, Tohru probably would have found another reason to protect Chaika. His entire set of values wasn’t based on the Jasmine incident alone.

However, that incident had actually greatly influenced Tohru’s present character.

“Just like that, all our lives are connected.”

Giving birth to life.

Saving a life.

If both of these things could similarly connect lives to each other, then perhaps—

“Incidentally,” an icy voice inquired, “I would greatly love to know what your intentions are with your current actions.”

“…!?”

Tohru pushed Chaika away in a panic.

He had merely been going along with the mood, but to someone who had just entered the room behind him it probably looked like Tohru and Chaika had been hugging each other.

“Wait, this isn’t…this is just…”

Panicked, Tohru turned towards the voice.

Akari stood there, expressionless as always, but—in her hand was a wooden pestle.

Most likely she had been using it to break down and mix the newly-bought ingredients- the tip was coated with a fine, brightly-colored powder, probably poison.

“Nii-sama.”

With a quick, sharp motion, Akari pointed the pestle at Tohru.

“If you have any excuse, I’d like to hear it.”

“Ah—no. That is to say, you’re wrong. This was, Chaika was, to the wound on my back, she was—”

What reason did he have to be so flustered? Though even he himself didn’t know, he kept making excuses.

“If she was simply doing a medical examination of your back, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to go around you to examine it?”

“You—can’t you let me finish explaining just this once!?” shouted Tohru.

During all this, Chaika was just looking back and forth in puzzlement at Tohru and Akari’s exchanges, appearing as though she had no idea whether or not she had done anything wrong. To her, there really weren’t any deeper suggestions behind touching Tohru’s wounded back.

“My goodness, it appears even Nii-sama is hopeless. You’re finally interested in doing some work after all this time, and then you go and seduce our client.”

She shrugged her shoulders as if to imply “good grief.” However, she was as usual near-expressionless, so the gesture just looked terrifying.

“Are you implying I often make moves on people?” Tohru groaned.

“You mean you wouldn’t?”

“I wouldn’t.”

Tohru glared at Akari.

“Besides, I haven’t done anything here, either. Chaika was just—this, my back, she was merely checking the wound on it. It’s nothing I should feel guilty for. If you’d just looked closer, you would have understood,” Tohru said, pointing to Chaika.

Of course, Chaika only blinked and tilted her head quizzically, completely innocent. Actually, speaking of innocence, Tohru had never asked her age, but exactly how the hell old was she? She vaguely had the appearance of being in her middle teens, but if that was the case then she should know exactly what embracing a member of the opposite sex implied.
But that aside…

“I see. All right. That is indeed my Nii-sama.”

Akari nodded with satisfaction.

“My Nii-sama tries to protect pure maidens, and even I have to admire that incredible sense of virtue.”

“I doubt you really believe that.”

“And so, ‘Chaika Trabant’.”

She once again pointed the wooden pestle, this time towards Chaika.

“Mui?”

Even if you are our client,there’s no way I can hand over Nii-sama’s virginity to you. But if you’re determined to take it at any cost, then let’s play rock-paper-scissors for it.”

“Seriously, rock-paper-scissors? Actually, just shut up for eternity!” Tohru shouted, striking the wall.

 

They decided to start the mission in the dead of night.

Aside from the obvious reason that attacking in broad daylight would be way too reckless, Chaika had to bring her coffin with her Gundo inside to cast magic. Carrying that out in the open would draw attention, and there was nothing to gain from that. For that reason, Tohru’s group opted to move after most of the town had fallen asleep.

“Now then…” he muttered.

The wealthy part of town was surrounded by a row of trees. He was standing on top of the roof of a house about the same height as the trees, focused on the count’s mansion.

As the crow flies, the distance between the two buildings was about a hundred meters. Moving along the rooftops, Tohru could cover that distance on foot in four breaths—approximately fifteen seconds—even when carrying his entire arsenal of equipment and weapons. If he used “Iron-Blood Transformation” he could cut down the time even more, but, since he couldn’t stay in that form for long, using it immediately wasn’t a good idea.

“No changes around the mansion, it seems. We’ll proceed as discussed.”

“Understood.”

With a nod, Akari reached out her right hand and pulled someone up from the edge of the roof. It was Chaika, wearing a collar like a kitten’s. Tohru had already pulled up her coffin, and it now rested at his feet.

“…Do we really have to bring this thing?” Tohru looked down at it, nonplussed.

It didn’t have to be on her person at all times, but whenever the coffin was out of her sight, Chaika seemed to panic. Tohru had suggested putting the Gundo’s components in an inconspicuous bag, but she had stubbornly refused to listen.

By nature wizards were already unsuited for close combat, but Chaika’s movements were all the more restricted due to the burden of the coffin, not to mention that she was petite to start with. It would be much more preferable for her to stay behind and support them from another location, but then they would have no way of confirming what the item they were to supposed to take actually was. So, she had to tag along.

“At the very least, taking it into the mansion is gonna be tough. Why not—”

“No.” Chaika glared at Tohru sharply. “Other options, none.”

“…Any way you look at it it’ll definitely make our job harder,” he muttered.

Tohru went over their strategy in his head.

Their task was ultimately to seize a “certain thing” from the count’s mansion. They weren’t required to assassinate the count or take down the fortress or anything, so the difficulty of this mission was relatively low. However, the problem lay in the fact that Tohru and Akari had no idea what that “certain thing” even was.

To be more precise, the problem was that they didn’t know how it was being stored, much less what it looked like.

It was like trying to pin down a cloud.

Based on what Chaika had told them, it seemed to be something related to magic. It could have been a part of something else, or it could simply be shut up in a vault or a safe.
In the end, there was no choice but to have Chaika, a wizard, go to the scene herself to check. If it was left up to the uninformed Tohru and Akari, they could very well end up taking something that wasn’t related at all. There was also the possibility that the Count Roberto Abarth was the cautious type and had prepared a decoy.

Tohru and Akari would have to raid the mansion while escorting Chaika with her coffin in tow. Of course it had been Chaika herself that had hired the two of them, which meant that she understood her own weaknesses. In addition to being somewhat slow-witted, her skill set was not in any way suited for thievery or close-combat. Whether it be breaking in and swiftly snatching the object or stealthily carrying it away, Chaika was completely the wrong class for both—and so she needed some help.

“…Well, whatever. Let’s go. Akari, I’ll be counting on you here.”

“Understood,” she replied with a nod.

With that, Tohru kicked off the roof.

His boots were covered in soft resin to prevent wear-and-tear, and that together with his flexible knees ensured he made virtually no sound as he moved. He headed straight for the count’s mansion, leaping from building to building in almost complete silence.

Thanks to last night’s reconnaissance, they knew how the guards were stationed.

There were watchtowers to the north, south, east, and west of the mansion. They overlooked the grounds, and the spots the towers weren’t able to reach were covered by guards that patrolled the area on a fixed schedule. As far as crime prevention systems for nobles go, it was a pretty standard, elementary setup.

Because the estate had probably been designed to hold upwards of a hundred servants,it would be wise to consider them as potential threats and parts of the mansion’s security. Thanks to the long period of wars, it was common to find people who were well-versed in martial arts.

Of course, the idea of defeating all those servants—was unthinkable.

Instead,Tohru’s plan was to narrow down the places where the item could be based on the structure of the mansion, and then secure a safe route where Akari could bring along Chaika.

He had on the battle outfit he hadn’t worn in a long time.

He was equipped with the weapon he almost never used.

Armed with these things, Tohru could feel his spirits lifting.

The Acura village was constructed for the purpose of battle, and had continued to serve that purpose.

Tohru, who was born and raised there, was also built for the purpose of battle. He lived for it.

People had died in the middle of their training, even before going out and experiencing real combat. Swords that would never be wielded, hat had rusted and broke without even being unsheathed from their scabbards. To Tohru, the thought of that was fear itself.

Humans would, someday, die.

And so he wanted to make his mark on the world—some kind of proof that he had lived.

A purpose for being born—accomplishing that goal was his reason for living.

Accomplishing that, and then dying…that was the way to live life.

And so…

“But, this isn’t a battlefield,” Tohru muttered in self-mockery.

This was simple thievery.

And yet—

“Oh well.”

Tohru leapt into the air.

He took out a tiny mirror from his bag and waved it behind him.

Twisting his body while in the air, he released a thin chain that was fitted in the cuff of his sleeve. There was a weighted claw at the end, and when he threw it it sailed over the high wall surrounding the mansion and latched onto the peak of one of the watchtowers.

Nn! A sharp noise passed over Tohru’s head.

Actually, it was the exact opposite of a noise.

A vacuum with the capability to forcefully cut off all sound from around it stretched out in a narrow, squiggly line and hit the watchtower directly. Tohru was able to hear the “noise” because all the troublesome faint noises in the watchtower’s vicinity, like the night wind or chirping of crickets, were also extinguished.

He traced a large pendulum in the air and grappled to the middle section of the watchtower.

“…”

He stole a furtive glance above him.

He couldn’t tell if any guards were moving up there or not.

Because of the magic vacuum, any sounds that Tohru’s chain might have made were completely absorbed into it. Needless to say, the magic was Chaika’s doing. According to her, it was some kind of void magic, named “The Sucker,” that sucked most noises into it.

“…Okay.”

Having confirmed that he had all his weapons and tools, he began to climb up.

The guards patrolling the area only came around about once every hour.

Conversely, that meant that if he could silence the guards on the watchtower within that hour, he wouldn’t be discovered.

“…There.”

There were two of them atop the watchtower, and that area was already small enough to not be conspicuous to anyone else. For better or for worse, it was a place that was designed only for watching over the surroundings. If there hadn’t been any railing, just the slightest shoulder bump from a comrade could send someone straight off the edge.

“It turns out it didn’t go too well for the merchant’s little brother.”

“I’ve already heard this one, man.”

Two middle-aged men were leaning against the railing, engaging in idle gossip.

Tohru saw his opportunity and quickly pulled himself up on top of the watchtower—

“Huh!?”

Tohru struck one of the guards’ vital spots from the back, silencing him, and the second guard only had time to let out a short scream before he was struck in the same way. It was quick work—it only took an instant.

By the way, Tohru had dealt with the guards without using his weapons. Not out of the goodness of his heart, nor some manifestation of moral sensibility; it was simply that the smell of blood drifting from this area would alert the other guards to foul play, so killing would have been a rash action.

The two middle-aged guards were sitting in place, unconscious.

Tohru deliberately brought one to his feet, and by connecting his body to the fence and post with a thin string, was able to give the impression that the guard was still on watch.

In order to prevent enemies from invading, most strongholds had strange, complex structures within their walls—because of this, it was easy to go into hiding. The purpose of a watchtower was to spot these hiding places from above.

It was true that the count’s estate had four watchtowers, but now one part—a blind spot in the area that the four towers looked over—had been created. With this, it was possible for Akari to come through and bring Chaika along the path. Without delay, Tohru began to search for the shortest possible route to where the important thing might reside. If, during the raid, someone saw him, he would put that person to sleep as well, which would further increase the blind spot.

“Here we go.”

He descended by hanging the chain down and coming down the same way he went up.

Then he continued towards the mansion, this time moving undercover.

* * *

From the watchtower shone a reflection of the moonlight. That was the signal.

“All right.”

Akari nodded to herself, and then gave a nod to Chaika.

Chaika had the coffin on her back as she clung to Akari.

“Hold on tight.”

“Understood.”

Akari. Chaika. And the coffin.

The coffin itself was actually empty, but still looked quite heavy—however, Akari was carrying both Chaika and the coffin effortlessly, without a single change in expression.

“I am steel.”

She began to chant the words to activate “Iron-Blood Transformation.”

At the same time that all of her muscles contracted, her hair, flowing out behind her, was tinged by the color of blood.

“Steel knows no fear. Steel knows no doubt. When faced with my enemy, I hesitate not. I am a weapon to destroy them.”

In an instant, Akari had doubled her muscle strength. She kicked off and began to run down the roof.

 

Moving from one inconspicuous place to another, Tohru reached the mansion at last. Inside, he made his way around with the aid of a blueprint that he had drawn up beforehand based on the mansion’s exterior.

The mansion’s internal structure ended up falling within his expectations. However…

“…?” Tohru raised his eyebrows. This place was strangely devoid of personnel.

There had been a standard amount of guards outside, but in here almost all of the lights were already out and there was nothing to suggest that anyone waspatrolling around. Come to think of it, the only thing keeping him from entering in the first place had been a lock-and-key setup—the absolute minimum level of security—which Tohru was easily able to bypass.

What is up with this place?

Something felt strangely off in here. What was it? Tohru couldn’t exactly put it into words, but he had a vague feeling of discomfort. Truth be told, this was actually the first time he had set foot in a house belonging to anyone wealthy, let alone nobility, so it was possible that his unease stemmed simply from not being used to the environment.

Regardless, there should definitely be people here… It felt almost as if he had been swallowed by a large creature.

Now’s not the time to be concerned with that, though. Tohru gave his head a little shake as if to shake off his uncomfortable feeling.There can only be so many places where something valuable would be kept.

Since it wasn’t a work of art or anything, it was unlikely to be kept in a warehouse or storage room. But it probably wouldn’t be put up as a decoration in the hallways either.

So that left…

The center of the mansion. His own bedroom or office, or perhaps a room he can get to from there quickly.

Those kinds of rooms were generally located around the same area.

…So, around here then.

Though Tohru wasn’t completely sure, he headed toward where he thought the cluster of rooms must be, the center of the mansion.

Come to think of it, Akari and Chaika should be entering the mansion right about now, he realized.

Tohru went into a room that looked like an office. Of course, there weren’t any lights on since it was late at night, and all the windows were shut, so there was no moonlight coming in either. It was completely dark. But…

“…!?”

In the next instant, Tohru whirled around.

He had sensed a sign of life. Someone was here.

Then—

“Hm.”

Light filled the room.

The light wasn’t from a candle or a gas lamp. In an instant, it was bright enough to blind Tohru, and that could only be the work of magic. There was probably such a device somewhere. Though it would be unthinkable for commoners to have one, they would occasionally show up in houses of nobility and royalty.

“A thief, is it? My, my.”

There, in the center of the spacious office, stood a single middle-aged man.

He was large, with blonde hair. He had a broad-shouldered physique, elegant facial features and his ornate pajamas accented with gold and silver thread made his pedigree quite clear.

This had to be Roberto Abarth, owner of this mansion.

“Here I had asked you to leave, and you couldn’t even go a day without resorting to theft. As I thought, countryside nobles have no class.”

“?”

Tohru was confused. He didn’t understand what this guy was talking about at all.

“No matter. I was just thinking that having nothing to use my precious treasure on was getting a bit boring. You might be a lowly thief, but to be able to creep in this far must mean you’re not a complete amateur. Am I right?” The count walked across his office as he spoke. There was a hint of amicability in his voice.

On the count’s neck was a collar that he was clearly trying to keep hidden, but Tohru noticed it anyway. Something that looked like a thin cord came from the collar and ran down the count’s back and crept along the floor towards one of the office walls, where it passed through the wall and seemed to cut off somewhere else.

To Tohru, he looked like a dog on a leash.It was a bizarre sight. However…

“…So what?”

Tohru prepared himself.

But—there was something he didn’t understand.

This uncomfortable feeling.

He had felt that something wasn’t right, and the instant the count had shown himself, that feeling had shot up to its peak.

Then—

“—!?”

The count’s strange, incomprehensible behavior had made him wary of any guards that might have been around, so he had been prepared, but even so it was mostly due to complete luck that he had managed to dodge it in time.

Something had come flying off the wall with an incredible amount of force.

In an instant, he had bent his body downward, dodging it by a hair.

It had grazed past him, ripping off the mask he was using to hide his face.

Jumping out of the way to avoid another possible attack, Tohru took a moment to look behind him at what had flown by, and he realized that it was a long sword that had been hanging on the wall only mere seconds ago. Most likely it was intended for display purposes and not actual battle—on its hilt was a decoration that looked way too over-the-top to actually be taken seriously in a fight, and above that was a blade so brittle that it would probably break immediately if used in combat. This long sword was now embedded in the wall, still trembling from the impact. But—

“What the hell!?”

There was no one in the direction the sword had come from.

Of course, it had been a different place from where the count was standing. And it had been in a place that the count wouldn’t have been able to reach, even if he stretched out his arm.

So how in the world did he execute an attack like that?

“I see. This is quite the situation. Now that I get a good look, where did you accumulate all that training at such a young age?”

“…!”

Not good. The count had seen his face.

But—there was no time for Tohru to be unnerved. As for why…

“Well then, how about this?”

At the count’s words, all kinds of things from inside the room suddenly flew straight at Tohru.

A vase, an ashtray, a pen, a picture frame, a candlestick, some cutlery, and other such objects. The count never laid a hand on any of them—one by one they rose up abruptly of their own will and flew towards Tohru at a murderous speed.

“Tch!?”

Tohru unsheathed the pair of comblades at his waist.

The tattooed design on his palms synced up with the design on the hilt of the comblades, and Tohru’s senses were heightened. He grasped the comblades, which had now intuitively and literally become a part of him, and knocked away the items that were flying at him.

“…I get it.”

At that moment, Tohru realized something.

The count had a collar. That could only mean—

“You bastard—you’re a wizard, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. You didn’t think that only swordsmen could attain military accolades, did you?” he sneered.

Yes. The count was a magic user. That collar he was wearing was probably a device to connect himself with his Gundo. It had to be magic that was making the items in the room fly one after another.

But—

How is he using magic like this?

No matter how many times they were knocked down, the objects rose up into the air and then attacked Tohru once more. There was no doubt that this was the work of magic. However—

Where’s the spell-chanting? No, first off, what kind of magic is this!?

Magic was something that required the positions of both yourself and your opponent to be clearly defined, and things like range, direction, temperature and level of humidity also had to be considered, for they could greatly influence a spell’s effectiveness. For that reason, wizards could not fight on the front lines. To swordsmen specializing in front-line combat, wizards that had to sluggishly register and adjust their magic must have looked like they were merely humming a tune.

But the count wasn’t chanting any spells.

Furthermore, he wasn’t even taking the distance between himself and Tohru, or anything else, into account. He was attacking much too early for that. And how was he able to continuously attack?

“Haha, a swordsman being overwhelmed by a wizard such as I in a face-to-face encounter? Truly superb.”

The count laughed.

His voice, filled with prideful scorn, like that of a cat teasing a mouse, caused Tohru’s expression to distort dramatically. This guy was convinced that he had already won. He was probably thinking he could kill Tohru at any time he wanted, so he wanted to play with him for a little bit longer.

“Don’t take me so lightly!”

With a spin he knocked away the count’s projectiles, sunk down to the floor, and in the next moment, sprung at the count with all his might. However spacious the room was, it was really only a room, so with Tohru’s leg strength he could close the distance between his comblades and the count in a second. However—

Tohru met with some resistance in the air.

Something he couldn’t see stopped his attack, and sent him flying backwards. By twisting his body Tohru was able to land on the wall, which stopped his momentum and let him get down on the floor. If he had not assumed ukemi (1) and crashed into the wall instead, he probably would have broken a bone—or several.

“…What was that just now?” groaned Tohru.

However, contrary to his utterance he had now realized a few things.

There hadn’t been any guards inside the mansion to begin with because they weren’t necessary. With that kind of strength, the count could instantly finish off any regular old intruder all by himself. No…in fact, the reason why there were no other people showing up because they would only be a hindrance if they were to get involved. A bit ago when the count had been making the items fly, Tohru had been his only target, so he didn’t need to have very good throwing accuracy. If someone else were to carelessly enter the fray, there was a good chance that person would end up getting mixed up in it.

“My, aren’t you stubborn. Though I would expect no less.” The count nodded.”But, how about this?”

The items that until now had been thrown one after another all rose up in the air at once. Tohru was completely surrounded.

“Now die, thief.”

A sadistic smile spread across the count’s lips.

In that moment—

“Nii-sama!”

A shout rang out, and a single throwing knife came whistling past.

It headed straight for the count, but then in the next moment it stopped in the air—all of its momentum died and it fell to the floor, useless. At the same time, all the floating items also fell to the ground with a loud clatter, as if their strings had been cut.

Then…

“Stay back, Akari, this guy’s dangerous!” Tohru shouted as he turned toward the room’s entrance and retreated.

Akari had another knife ready in her left hand and her favorite hammer ready in her right.

“Nii-sama, what is he?”

“A wizard, probably—but he’s trouble. He doesn’t use a wand, and he hasn’t chanted even one spell.”

“…Oh?”

In an instant, Akari seemed to have grasped how strange this situation was. It was magic that allowed the user to execute a throwing action over and over again without the use of a wand and without needing to chant spells. Was there even any sort of magic like that?

However—

“Wizard?” Chaika popped out from behind Akari’s back. She had reacted to Tohru’s words, probably because she was also a wizard. But—

“Don’t show yourself!”

Tohru simply didn’t have the leeway to protect the dim-witted Chaika. Up until now, he hadn’t even had the time to chant the keywords for “Iron-Blood Transformation.” No, even now, if he chanted them here without thinking, a sword or something else would definitely come flying—

“—!”

No. Nothing was flying at him.

On the contrary, Count Roberto Abarth had a stunned expression on his face, and even staggered forward a step.

“You…”

He appeared to be gasping for air—this wizard who up until now had looked down at Tohru with an arrogant demeanor. Now, that had crumbled, and his mouth opened and closed like a beached fish as he stuttered.

“Ridiculous…you…you’re supposed to be dead!”

“?”

Who was he directing those words to?

Certainly not Tohru or Akari.

Which meant…

“Dead?”

Was it this girl tilting her head quizzically, Chaika Trabant?

But then…

“This is insane. Back then…back then, you were definitely…!”

With that scream, the items inside the room rose up again.

“Everyone, let’s run!” Tohru shouted.

He picked Chaika up in his arms, and he and Akari ran out of the room and down the hallway.

 

Magic. Gundo , mansion itself, most likely,” Chaika said, her arms linked with Tohru’s as he carried her.

As they ran through the mansion, Tohru had filled them both in on his brief confrontation with the master of the house. In the face of such irrational magic, Tohru had wanted to hear what an expert on the subject had to say.

“The mansion itself?” Though Tohru muttered it reflexively—

“I see.” He actually understood.

The count hadn’t been chanting anything, and he wasn’t carrying any sort of Gundo.
Naturally, if his Gundo was the mansion itself.

Though it was called a “Gundo”, the truth was its form didn’t have to be that of a cane or wand. (1) As long as it included all the functions of one, it didn’t matter what it was shaped like. In fact, it was easier to make it larger than smaller.

And so, it was indeed magic. Tohru had initially thought that the count had been using magic on each item individually to throw them, but that was incorrect.
He was simply using magic to create an “unseen hand”, one that moved according to his will.

Of course, such magic required a particularly long period of startup, so a suitably large Gundo was required; however, after all this time that was probably no longer a problem.

“And he hadn’t chanted anything either…”

Along with controlling how effective a spell was, chants were used to set up and adjust the aim down to the smallest detail; however, he mansion didn’t move and everything inside it was within effective range, including the count himself, so he could simply stand in a fixed position and activate magic without even having to aim at anything. Since that was the case, adjustment wasn’t necessary in the first place.

“In other words, perhaps the mansion and that guy are one and the same…” Tohru muttered.

Now that uncomfortable feeling he was having made sense. The scope of the count’s magic, his “unseen hand”, probably covered the entire mansion. The magic was what had made him feel so strange. Naturally, since Tohru and the others were technically running around in their opponent’s body, so to speak.

“No, wait a minute.”

Suddenly, Tohru stopped running.

“Nii-sama?” Akari stopped as well and turned to look at her brother.

“There’s nobody else in the mansion… and also, a bit ago…”

There hadn’t been anybody else in the mansion—or at the very least no one had bothered to come running to respond to the uproar that Tohru and company had made. And that was most likely because it was difficult for the count to distinguish between a trespasser and an ally.

“So I guess it really is a ‘hand’.”

It couldn’t see or hear; all it had to determine Tohru and the others’ locations was its sense of touch.

And that meant—

He can only do one thing at a time…

The count only had one “invisible hand.”

If that wasn’t the case, there wouldn’t have been any reason for the items thrown at Tohru to fall to the ground once the hand had caught Akari’s throwing knives in midair.

Or perhaps the count had just reached his limit with the magic. When all the objects were floating in the air, they were probably being scooped up all at once rather than being thrown one at time.

“Chaika.”

“Mui?”

“If you were in the count’s shoes, where in this mansion would you put the core of a Gundo?”

“As for location: outer area, little effect.”

“So the center of the mansion then,” Tohru muttered. With that, Tohru set Chaika down.

“Akari, take Chaika and search for the count’s Gundo. I’ll keep him occupied. As far as his current means of attack is concerned, he can probably only attack one place at a time. At the very least, he can’t use two “hands” at once. While I’m dealing with him, you two sever the source of his power.”

“Understood.”

Akari gave a nod of confirmation, and with that, Tohru turned a corner and dashed away, leaving the two of them behind.

* * *

Count Roberto Abarth was none too pleased.

He had been so close to wiping out that thief once and for all, but despite his best efforts he had failed.

“And after the trouble I went through to set ‘it’ up for use. This isn’t amusing in the least.”

During the wars, he had tasted the bitterness of ridicule at the hands of knights and cavaliers.

Sure, a wizard’s magic was flashy, but because their abilities could only be used from the rear, taking the vanguard position was out of the question. And so, fighting without help was basically impossible—and for that, many knights and cavaliers and the like viewed wizards in contempt. Even the general public often equated wizards with being “knights’ valets”, or even merely “weapons in reserve.”

To begin with, the legacy of wizards was shallow compared to that of other warriors.
Until the Gundo, which allowed for the abbreviation of rituals and chants, came about, the mere act of standing on the battlefield was no small feat for them. And the first nation to implement the Gundo was the country of the Emperor himself, the Gaz Empire. In short, from the onset wizards were often given harsh treatment.
And from the start, the Abarths had been a military family.

Within their long history, many of the heads had accumulated feats of arms. Of course, not all of them throughout the years could exactly be called “warriors”, but in general being an Abarth meant that you excelled in martial arts. Their creed was that a person was to be raised by his environment.

Naturally, Roberto too had been drilled in martial arts…at first.

But then… one day when he was ten, he had shattered the bone of his right arm at the elbow.

Thanks to medical treatment, it didn’t impact his daily life and he was able to move his arm, but the doctors told him that he would never be able to swing a sword again.

That day, Roberto’s own hell began.

His father, mother and even his attendants stopped putting their hopes and expectations on him and regarded him as completely useless. Their general behavior towards him stayed the same, but the slight difference in their actions and wording made it easy to tell.

He would no longer be able to wield a sword.

In that case, he had to attain some other form of military might in the sword’s stead.

So he thought he’d try his hand at magic. He thought that if he could achieve success as a wizard, he might be able to retain his military honor even without a sword.

And that was why he had desperately participated in that last battle—to attain military accolades as a wizard.

To be honest, he had many brushes with death in the process, but he managed to survive and in the end, even procured a special reward, bestowed upon only a select few.

And that reward—the very thing connected to the control center of the Gundo that was now placed inside his bedroom like a family heirloom would be—was something he had used to magnify his magical power through this whole mansion.

With his own hands (and the magic literally did take the shape of a hand), he had finally acquired the power to strangle all those knights and cavaliers. On top of that, he could do it at close range. In order to be able to use it to his heart’s content, he had informed his servants that they were no longer needed. Any allies who hung around would actually be virtually indistinguishable from enemies.

Nonetheless—

“That girl.”

The girl that had been standing behind that thief. She was supposed to be dead. She should have been killed.

No, that wasn’t all. Even if by some miracle she had somehow managed to survive, it had been five years since then. Why did she look like she hadn’t grown at all? For someone of her age, five years was quite a large gap, yet her appearance hadn’t changed in the least—why?

“No, that’s not important right now…” Roberto muttered, forcibly smothering the growing anxiety inside him. “At any rate, if I failed to kill her then, all I have to do is finish her off properly this time.”

Of course, she had to be dead though. Rather, if he hadn’t finished her off, that would pose a problem.

And so he saw no issues with killing her for real this time.

“Now then…”

He walked through the hallway, his cord dragging along the floor.

“This time I’ll crush you, you thief.”

The thief stood in front of him in the hallway.

He didn’t hide or run away.

To Roberto it even looked a bit like he was hanging his head in resignation.

But…

“—When faced with my enemies, I will not hesitate. I am a weapon to destroy them.”

The thief seemed to be muttering something incomprehensible, and his hair was—

“…!”

Roberto raised his eyebrows in surprise.

The thief’s hair had turned completely red.

Red, like the color of blood.

“You—”

He had heard of them.

A cavalier’s honor, a soldier’s pride—these things meant nothing to them. They lived solely for the sake of battle itself. It was their reason for existing. The jacks-of-all-trades that lived on the battlefield, the saboteurs. One of their secret skills was calling out a “keyword”, a few sentences that when chanted would power them up.

“You’re a saboteur!”

“—!”

The thief, exhaling sharply, leapt right at Roberto.

 

In a single blow, Akari destroyed the door with her hammer.

She had already exhausted her time limit for “Iron-Blood Transformation,” but her normal strength was more than enough for a mere door.

Supposing that the Gundo’s magic was being cast from a fixed location, there was no need for it to adjust according to distance or direction. Taking into consideration that even something as small as a change in temperature or humidity could affect its magic, however, allowed her to narrow down the possible places where the Gundo could be located. Optimally, it would have to be in a place with as little possible interference.

That meant that it was probably in the mansion’s center.

Namely, the room right next to his office—the count’s bedroom.

“Now, where is it?” she wondered aloud. She proceeded to destroy everything inside: the bed, the desk, even the candlesticks. Every piece of furniture in the room was utterly annihilated.

It was clear that the count’s magic was dangerous. Tohru was in his “Iron-Blood Transformation” form, so she didn’t imagine that he would just lose outright. But even so, it was true that the count had repelled the throwing daggers, and he used magic that allowed him to throw things at a deadly speed. Tohru and Akari thought of it as an “invisible hand.” Against something like that, his trusty projectiles and melee tactics would be rendered useless. Tohru had no way of defeating him.

Furthermore, remaining in “Iron-Blood Transformation” beyond the time limit would cause his body to self-destruct, so he needed to deactivate it early enough.

However, doing so would probably get him killed.

Chaika pointed to a tear in the wall that Akari’s hammer had made.

“Take this!”

Akari stepped forward, twirling her hammer. She hooked the hammer onto the tear and pulled. The wallpaper came off, and along with it splinters of wood, revealing that the wall had been fake. There, past the wall, was an excessively large object that looked to her like a blood vessel radiating pale blue light.

“—!”

With a cry, Akari brought her hammer down on the blood vessel-like object. But…

“What?!”

The hammer bounced off with a dull sound.

“Could this be…the same thing that happened with the throwing knives!?”

Thinking it over, though, of course there would be something like this. The magic would be destroyed if the Gundo was, so there was no way the count would leave his Gundo unattended without a few countermeasures.

“Magic…” With a nod, Chaika set down the coffin she was carrying, and with it the Gundo that was fastened on top. She got to work setting it up.

“Magic, will cancel. After that, destroy.”

“Hurry, then!” Akari shouted.

* * *

Basically, this was a “hand.” That much Tohru understood.

It was magic that created a large “invisible hand.” That was how it was able to do things like “block” and “throw.” It could do everything a normal hand could do, which meant that it probably also searched its surroundings by using the sense of touch. That would explain why it was hard for the count to differentiate between an intruder and an ally.

No, that wasn’t all. He couldn’t use two “hands;” he could only use one. That was why all the objects it was carrying had fallen to the floor as soon as he blocked Akari’s throwing dagger. However, the hand was able to perform two or more actions simultaneously, as long as they were the same action. The count was able to throw multiple things at once, after all.

So that means…

He evaded the objects flying toward him, continuing to mull it over.

It’s a matter of his attention… no, his concentration.

However exceptional magic was, in the end, it came down to the wizard’s control.

Concentration was one of the foundations of controlling magic. If something happened to a wizard’s concentration, then they wouldn’t be able to exercise control. They would no longer be able to use their magic freely.

“Awfully restless, aren’t you?”

“And you’re slow. After all, you’re a wizard.”

Tohru countered the count’s remark with another one designed to provoke him.

“Silence, you third-rate saboteur!”

A roar rang out in the air. It was an attack that no regular eye would be able to see, yet “Iron-Blood Transformation” Tohru noticed it from the heat of the friction in the air. He dodged it effortlessly and went for a direct attack.

But…

“Hngh!”

The count’s hand had probably returned to its master—it had most likely put itself in front of Tohru to block his attack, which bounced right off. It was as he thought—no matter what type of attack he tried he would not be able to reach the count.

And that wasn’t all…

“Now then. This is checkmate.”

The count’s expression suddenly changed to one of absolute elation.

“You realize that you’re cornered, don’t you?”

“…”

Tohru remained silent.

But he knew what the count meant.

This was a very long stretch of hallway with no branching points—behind him was nothing but a dead end. He was trapped.

And all the count had to do was send the hand straight at him.

With that, the hand would completely fill the hallway, and the count only had to send it flying forward to slam him into the wall, crushing him.

“Now then, perish. And rest assured, as soon as I’m done with you, that girl I failed to kill is next.”

“By ’girl you failed to kill,’ you must mean Chaika.”

“Chaika? Ah, yes, that was her name, wasn’t it?”

The count smiled sadistically.

“It seems like you came into contact with this girl without knowing about her. How pitiful. After all, you’re a saboteur—just a dog unable to choose his master, completely useless in the current era.”

“You’re basically right.”

Tohru spoke.

“But there’s just one thing you got wrong. Allow me to educate you.”

“What?”

“This isn’t checkmate.”

“…”

The count raised his brows. “What a miserable display of bravado. Very well then, time to die—”

“There’s something you should know about saboteurs,” Tohru muttered. “We’re not like knights or cavaliers or anything like that.”

The moment he finished saying those words, it happened.

The floor underneath the count’s feet suddenly gave way.

Tohru had been cutting into the floor with his pair of swords as he ran. Of course, there was no point to destroying the floor immediately, but Tohru, who had realized earlier that the count was using the long stretch of hallway to try to back him into a corner, was also able to surmise that the count would make the hand as wide as the hallway and try to thrust it at him. It went without saying that such an attack would put quite the burden on the walls, the ceiling, and of course, the floor.

“What!?”

On instinct the count used the hand to break his fall. But there was no need. Even with Tohru in “Iron-Blood Transformation” mode, it was impossible for him to cut all the way through to the ceiling of the floor below. Since the count’s fall had stopped at just the floorboards, it was unlikely to give Tohru a free opening to attack.

In other words, this was merely a tactic designed to catch the count off guard.

“–!”

The count noticed Tohru’s short sword heading right for his face.

The count sent the hand he was using to support himself up to block the attack.

The sword bounced off and flew into the air, but then…

“Agh!?”

The count saw another short sword heading towards him.

The first one had been a bluff, and the true one right behind him was traveling nearly the same trajectory. The count had only made the hand block the first sword, so the second one sailed past and stabbed into his shoulder.

“Guuh…!?” the count grunted.

Then, in the next moment, from both the count’s shoulder and the ceiling where the first sword had stuck, the two swords leapt back into Tohru’s hands. Thin threads were tied to both of the hilts, and he had pulled them back.

The two swords fit snugly into his hands.

Then…

“!?”

The unsettling feeling that had been surrounding Tohru suddenly disappeared. The count also noticed it and his eyes went wide.

“You bastard…!”

“It looks like Chaika and Akari were able to break your Gundo.”

“…Impossible! That girl’s a wizard, too!?”

“Huh?” Tohru furrowed his brows at the surprised count raising his voice.

It seemed like this guy knew a lot about Chaika, but he didn’t know that she was a wizard? He had figured they probably come across each other from being in the same line of work, but apparently he had been mistaken.

And then…

“Tohru!”

From a corner of the hallway behind the count, he saw Chaika and Akari appear.
“Retreat, retreat! Mission, accomplished!” Chaika called. She held up something for Tohru to see. It looked like a glass jar.

It seemed like that was what she had been looking for, but…

“Understood.”

With just that, Tohru kicked off the ground and leapt over the count, who was in a sitting position, covering up his shoulder.

“You…!?”

He seemed surprised that Tohru had not delivered the finishing blow. With an astonished expression, he turned to look at Tohru, but he had already disappeared from the hallway with Chaika and Akari as if he had completely lost interest.

“Let’s get out of here. Akari. Smoke bomb, now!”

“Understood, Nii-sama.”

With a nod, she took some smoke bombs out of a bag strapped to her lower back.
Together, Tohru and Akari picked up Chaika under their arms and lifted her up as they continued to run with all their might.

* * *

Escaping the mansion took a bit of effort. Through the use of smoke bombs, they deceived the collective gazes of the count’s hired hands while buying enough time for the explosive powder they had set up beforehand to detonate. Of course, they hadn’t been able to mix and prepare a ton of the stuff, but it was enough to divert the attention of the guards around the mansion.

In any case…

“That was something, huh?”

Having run all the way back to the trees without stopping, Tohru let out a deep sigh. He had already dissolved his “Iron-Blood Transformation” along the way. If he had continued to use it, his body would have been destroyed. As a rule, he could only have it active for several minutes.

But that aside…

“In the end, though, we botched that pretty bad. It’s a miracle we were somehow able to escape.”

If it had gone how they originally planned, they wouldn’t have needed to have a face-to-face encounter with the count. It seemed like the count had gotten him confused with someone else.

“…By the way, is that thing there what you were looking for?”

“Yes.” She showed the thing that she was cradling in her arms to Tohru. It was a cylinder, so clear that you could see the contents.

And inside was…

“This…thing we took back.”

Enclosed inside the cylinder that Chaika was so proudly holding up…was a disembodied left hand.

Chapter 3The light from the half-moon hanging in the night sky gently illuminated the town.It was already quite late at nightthere were no more pedestrians on the roads and most of the surrounding buildings' lights had gone out for the night. However, around the center of town where the count's estate sat the majority of buildings still had their lights on. Many of the nobles in this area were wealthy enough that, regardless of whether they used magic or fire to light their homes, they didn't pay any mind to lighting costs.PhewThis area of wealthy people looked as if it had been cut from somewhere completely different, and in this area stood a row of ten-foot-tall trees. Formally, yes, it was nothing more than a path lined with trees, but in actuality it was a wall that kept the nobles and common folk separated. It wasn't like they were necessarily prohibited from moving between each other's domains, but most people hesitated to cross the barrier simply because it was there. Intentionally crossing it for no reason meant that you were probably either an outsider or an individual with no sense of social awareness.And so, right nowWhat an incredibly gaudy building.A young boyno, a young man with a sour expression was currently atop of one of the trees. Even though he risked sustaining a grievous injury were he to fall from that height,he was standing on a narrow branch with his arms folded as though it were completely natural, without having to cling to the trunk at all.He had an unreal sense of balance.His clothes were dark in color. As for why he wasn't in total pitch-black attire, it was part of his camouflage. With the dim light the moon and stars were currently giving out, wearing all black would create a human-shaped hole in the viewer's vision and be much more conspicuous.Tohru Acura.He scanned the countless rows of buildings, zeroing in on the center of the townthe center building, the mansion of the count Roberto Abarth.It was called a mansion, but by nature it was a stronghold. Thanks to the long wars, every one of the nobles' mansions had this function. The end of the warring period brought about various changes in their ornamentation, probably in order to reform to a more elegant appearance and seem less threatening at a glance. But because their basic foundation and structure were that of a stronghold, they were quite durable and complicated, and of course were heavily guarded. Holes had been drilled in the walls through which the guards could fire arrows and magic, and if you looked closer you could see that there were watchtowers and such on all four corners. Even now it was impossible to tell whether or not guards were stationed there day and night, butHmIn his mind, Tohru created a rough blueprint of the place.A saboteur's training included something called fort-capturing, which was basically a technique used to capture strongholds. Of course, capturing an entire fortress alone was impossible, but going ahead of the main force,commencing destructive maneuvers, and making general preparations that would leave the enemy vulnerable were all part of the saboteur's trade.Tohru too had the ability to ascertain the inner structure of a building from things like outward appearance and location. Put simply, it was the same process a group of carpenters would follow in creating the blueprint of a building during a survey, except done mentally.Hereand hereThat should probably be it, he muttered, scratching his cheek while completing the blueprint in his head.Geez. I definitely didn't think we'd be scheming around with the count as our opponent.Are you hesitant to do this, Nii-sama?A voice came from under his feet.Who's hesitant'? Tohru asked, continuing to focus on the mansion.With agility that would put even a monkey to shame, a female figure began to scramble up the tree, moving her light body along the branches. Of course, it was none other than Akari Acura. She got to the other side of the tree trunk, stood on a branch opposite Tohru and turned towards him.No, of course you wouldn't be. My cherished and respected Nii-sama wouldn't hesitate to go up against anyone. My apologies. I don't know what I was thinking.Isee.If it was Nii-sama, even if you had no weapon and you had absolutely nothing to protect your bodynot a scrap of clothing, as naked as the day you were bornI'm sure that you still wouldn't hesitate, even if you were facing off against a million troops.That's just moronic, in all sorts of ways.In exactly what sort of premise would I be stark naked!?was the most pressing question he had. They had been raised as if they were real siblings, and yet Tohru had never been able to figure out what that girl was thinking at any given moment. She seemed to be angry for some reason, yet she continued to have no expression as she spoke.Ridiculous. You might be my Nii-sama, but I will not allow you to belittle my Nii-sama.Forgive me.You'rethe real moron.As long as you understand.You're okay with that? Tohru groaned. But then, he cut that idiotic conversation short.Anyway, Akari. How does the west side look?Not much different from over here. Well, it would be hard to use fort-capturing', but at any rate the count's mansion is probably still packed with guards even though the war's over. With the long war winning him accolades and such, it's likely that this count also received medals of honor, and so he must be quite rich. That would probably give him the coin needed to hire some guards.Is that so? This guy, winning accolades in wars?Nii-sama, it really would be prudent for you to open up your ears a little more to the rumors of the world.Well,sorry. I'm just a hikkikomori, after all, Tohru said rather sulkily, though that kind of behavior was expected of him.Truthfully, since crossing through Del Solant he had only ventured outside the house for the minimum amount of time necessary. Naturally, there was a difference in how the neighbors perceived him and how they perceived Akari, who made it a point to go outside the house and maintain her relationship with them. In fact, she seemed to be much closer to the organization of fellow refugees as a result.That may be, but even I've picked up a lot of random trivia about sex.I wouldn't brag about thatwait, if that were the case, shouldn't you know more about that kind of thing?No. I have an abundance of knowledge in lovemaking, but it is not grounded in any real experience.Then what good is that?In terms of theory, my knowledge is flawless. If it were Nii-sama, I'm confident I could take you down with one shot.That's exactly the kind of thing you shouldn't brag about.Tohru, with his eyes half-closed, sent a gaze full of disgust towards his sister, who had puffed her chest out when she had spoken.But as expected, it didn't seem to bother her at all. Changing the subject, she continued to speak.In the aforementioned wars, during the battle of the Gaz Empire, I heard that the current head of the family Roberto Abarth cut through the vanguard and stormed the emperor's castle all by himself. Apparently there are many who even call him a hero'.So the count is a pretty swell fighter then, huh? muttered Tohru.A noble of Roberto's stature would usually take along a sword when wearing formal attire, but that didn't necessarily mean they could use it well. In that way they were quite different from cavaliers and the likeregardless of how successful their families were in their military exploits, in general very few of them actually went out on the front lines.On the other hand, the nobles that actually did mix in with the front lines due to major battles often turned out to be quite the experts in military affairs and martial arts. Of course, those nobles were merely talented people appointed to positions like attendant and close aide, probably in case the people they were attended to were complete idiots.If that's the casethen it's as I thought.Tohru took a quick step forward.It seemed like a casual movement, but of course with there being no branch and only empty sky, he continued to face directly below him as he started to fall. However, Tohru wasn't panicked or troubled by this. Instead he extended his arms and grasped several branches on the way down, decreasing his velocity further each time. Then he landed on the base of the tree without making even a bit of noise.In the next instant, Akari did the same thing and landed.This situation is more like we were hired to be Chaika's support.Seems that way, Nii-sama.While the two walked together, Akari spoke.This little girldo you really think it's okay to trust her?You say little girl', but there's not that big of a difference between you and her.Mychestis bigger.Why don't you talk normally about something for once?Tohru glared at her, eyes half-lidded.Besides, she's our client, right? We have to trust her.No, that's not what I meant. I was referring to her skill as a wizard.Ah, that. Come to think of it, you haven't seen it, have you? Tohru muttered.Chaika's magic skillTohru had seen it, and it was quite something. Of course, Tohru had no aptitude for magic so he didn't understand the details, butduring the fight with the unicorn, the situation had required Chaika to use magic, and she had done it without messing up at all, even in such a dire situation. Tohru valued that above anything else.She had said she had a diverse range of advanced spells, but that the odds of her failing due to mental instability were pretty high.She had also said it was only a single simple spell, but that it was reliable in a number of different situations.I think it's good enough.Is that so?Yeah, somehowWait, what?When he had decided that, he had done so consciously, and earnestly to boot.When he had said it was good enough, he had probably done so with an unwavering heart.For he who had no core, no idea how to spend his days, someone void of doubt like Chaika was blindingly dazzling to him.Anyway, that girl's more than she appears to be.I see.For some reason Akari nodded, as if understanding something.Things are sometimes larger than they initially appear, Nii-sama.What are you referring to?My chest, of course.You know, you're a real idiot, Tohru replied sharply.Huh? But if I were to undress, it'd be a pretty big deal, no?I was talking aboutmagical aptitude! Besides, aren't you making this about yourself!?Don't get so angry, Nii-sama. It was merely a joke.I can't tell whether you're joking or not!With that facial expression that didn't change very much, it was particularly hard to tell.Continuing with that kind of conversation that was par for the course for the pair, they headed back towards their house, where Chaika was waiting.They came home to a battlefield.In other words, a wretched scene.When Tohru entered the room, he froze instantly.Beside him stood Akari, expressionless as usual.Before both their eyes wasUuu.Chaika, but she wasn't standing or sitting down. She was sprawled on the floor.For some reason, her head was covered in some sort of sticky substance, and tableware and wrecked furniture was toppled and scattered everywhere. It was easy to get the false impression that some kind of explosion had taken place, or some kind of powerful magic had been used. Well, the house had already been ruined, so the furniture was in terrible shape to begin with.Messed up.While saying that, Chaika stood up.She turned towards the two nonplussed siblings standing in the doorway, and promptly gave them a big smile.Good evening. No, welcome back, should say.Welcome back', my ass. Youwhat the hell happened here? said Tohru.By the way, even though the clearly younger Chaika was now technically his boss, Tohru was still addressing her as you, but that matter could be set aside for now.Dinner, tried to make. Messed up.Yeah, I can see that, Tohru replied sarcastically.Next to him, Akari's gaze seemed unusually scathing. Despite confidently telling Akari that the girl was more than she appeared to be, even Tohru was almost speechless after such a disaster.I knew you were clumsy in a lot of ways, but this is justTohru thought back to the first time he met her.When that girl was running every which way in an attempt to escape him, and then of all things doing something as stupid as coming back to him right before his eyes, she had done so completely earnestly. In order to use magic it was probably incredibly important to maintain a state of concentration, but perhaps he should have considered the possibility that she was a complete scatterbrain in everyday life.Bread. Baking. Mistake.For some reason she hit her chest with a seemingly proud gesture.Explain to me how a mere mistake' can turn into a disaster like this.Misjudged, intensity of heating magic. So, mistake, she said, flashing a bright smile.This kind of cute behavior was something that was expected from someone her ageno, on second thought, this was probably a bit too cute. Looking at the situation from a calm, objective point of view, it was mostly all the bread dough sticking to her head that made this quite the spectacle.It seemed that when not under pressure, she was somehow a failure at magic. Or perhaps the incident with the unicorn had just been a fluke. Tohru did not want to entertain that possibility.Also, did you really go out of your way to buy wheat?Ingredients, none.GuTohru had nothing to say to that.It was true that they had no ingredients. If there had been plenty of ingredients in the house, Tohru and Chaika never would have met in the first place.Well, this is justPerhaps she simply didn't know anything about the fermentation process of bread dough.But that was irrelevant for nowRight now, we need to figure out what we're going to do from tomorrow onwards, so we want to discuss our plans in advance. Go wash up or get ready or whatever. If you go out and to the right, there's a water jug you can use.Understood. She nodded vigorously and headed outside.While standing there and watching until she went out of sightI see now, Akari said as she nodded.Don't even say it.Nii-sama, I never knew you were into slightly careless girls.I said, shut up!However, Nii-sama. Rest easy. I'm confident that when it comes to who is the most careless, I am second to none.As if I could rest easy!Tohru moaned.* * *The Gillette Corps' vehicle was parked in the town square in the center of Del Solant. For Gillette's team, who were forced to go on reconnaissance for extended periods of time, the large April vehicle doubled as both a way for them to get around and a place for them to live. After their meeting with Roberto Abarth, the plan was to return to April where they were to meet up with Mattheus Callaway, who had done some preliminary scouting. Then they were to enter a meeting to discuss future strategies.That had been the plan, anyway.What happened?Mattheus was still wiping the camouflage paint off his face with a towel as he spoke. Normally, the camouflage paint covered from his chin up to the top of his bald head, which made him look more like a wizard. However, without the paint, his charming narrow eyes and round face became more apparent.He gazed at the interior of the main cabin, looking somewhat baffled.In the traditional housing parlance, this room would be considered the living roomit was used as a multipurpose room for everything from meetings to meals. The driver's cabin was located to its front, and behind it were the bedroomseach of which were about as big as a cubby hole, followed by the cargo hold.Setting that asideCan you not tell just by looking?The cavalier Alberic Gillette replied, fatigue showing on his well-featured face.The members of Gillette Corps were all sitting on a sofa in the main cabin, looking like they were at the end of their ropes. There wasn't a single smiling face among themhowever, there was one that looked much more severe than all the others, and that was Vivi Holopainen's.Along with Zita, Vivi was one of the youngest girls in the Gillette Corps. She was sitting backwards in her seat, so Mattheus could only see her back from his position. As she was sitting there she was throwing things at a small piece of wood leaning against the wall.What, exactly, was she throwing? Needles.The last needle that she had thrown and embedded into the wood was actually her tenth or so. The characters for Roberto Abarth had been hastily carved into the wood, as well as a poorly-done set of facial features.This kind of action gave the impression that was some serious hostility or hatred in the air.Mattheus nodded.Ah, so more of the usual then?Yes, I suppose that it's basically more of the usual, said Nikolay Autotor, Gillette Corps's second-in-command.The stern, heavily-built man looked very much like a soldier. He pointed over in Vivi's direction.This time, the meeting was incredibly short. So it makes sense that she's in a bad mood.HahaMattheus looked in Vivi's direction once more.He could still only see her back, but it wasn't hard to guess that she was scowling with that immature face of hers. Being a young assassin, she was able to suppress her emotions scarily well when she was working, but as soon as she was free they all came spilling out.It was six minutes and seventeen seconds long, to be precise.Zita, who had been with Vivi and Alberic when they had gone to Roberto Abarth's mansion, spoke. She too looked quite young, and wore large glasses on her face.That's a new record, isn't it?Whaaat?Vivi puffed out her cheeks and turned to look at Zita.Even though Viviwas throwing the needles with incredible skill,an expression like thatmade her look more her ageno, actually, it made her look even younger than she already was.Don't act like it's somebody else's problem. You were plenty mad too, Zita.Ahaha. But you're mad enough for both of us, Vivi. I'm satisfied just from that.Zita displayed an easygoing smile.The two were completely different when it came to things like their birth, the way they were brought up, andtheir title, yet somehow when together they were like sisters. Sure, the two were both females in Gillette Corps and similar in age,but even so they seemed to get along quite well with each other.As always, I apologize to both of you.A wry smile crept up on Alberic's face.I realize this incident made you rather upset. But still, going there by myself without some kind of attendant would have looked way too suspicious. Oh well, there's always a next tiGillette-sama.Vivi gave a big sigh.It's because you're like that, Gillette-sama, thatEh? W-wait, it's actually my fault!?Alberic blinked rapidly in confusion, looking around to his comrades as if seeking some sort of explanation, butGillette-dono.Nikolay said with a grin.Really, how do you not realize? Vivi and Zita aren't upset because the count treated them rudely.Huh?Alberic tilted his head.It seemed like he really didn't understand.Gillette-dono, you'reStop right there! Shut up!Vivi waved her hand, fast enough to create a whooshing sound.In the next instant, Nikolay held his hands up in front of his face and made a quick motion like he was wiping off a window.That was close.In the palm of Nikolay's his massive handno, actually between his fingers, there was a single needle.Nikolay had caught in midair what Vivi had thrown at him. No matter how you looked at it, to do something like that simply by eyeballing where the object was going was a superhuman feat. However, Nikolai showed no sign of being proud of it, and none of the others seemed to be surprised at all.InsteadShut up! Silence! Stupid-Niko!She was blushing a bit as she shouted.Zita, too, was blushing slightly, eyes downcast, whenWhat have I done wrong?No, you didn't do anything wrong, per se. Actually, it's the oppositeNikolay said, keeping his hand raised as if he was swearing an oath, the needle still between his fingers.On second thought, please pay it no mind.? Okay, if you say so.Though a bit of bewilderment still remained on his handsome face, he gave a nod.Mattheus, who had been observing this scene, looked up at the ceiling and sighedIt looks like everything's the same as usual, he said.Having to deal with uncooperative nobility. Vivi's displeasure. Even Alberic's extreme blockheadedness. All of it.To tell the truth, Gillette Corps was rarely actually welcomed by anyone they visited.Perhaps many of them thought that Gillette Corps were merely swindlers that gave off the impression of nobility. And to be honest, that was a reasonable thing to think. After all, to be told something like We can't divulge the details because it's dangerous, but we need you to hand over your family's treasure and then actually comply with the request was something only the most idiotic of idiots would do, or perhaps just someone who had abandoned all common sense to embrace eccentricity.Count Abarth did treat us like fellow nobles, though, Alberic said as he shrugged his shoulders.This isn't good, Mattheus said. There's no question that she has entered this city. Based on her movements, she seems to be going after Abarth himself.Most likely, commented Alberic.But of course, explaining the situation to him would be impossible.Naturally, Alberic replied bitterly. For the time being, I have asked Leonardo to head to Abarth's place on observation. If anything happens, it would be best for us to rush there immediately. However, something seems strange about that mansion.Strange?It's unusual, but there don't seem to be a lot of guards there. Well, that's not true; they all seem to be outside the mansion. There have been almost no guards stationed inside. Even all the guardrooms are outside. I get the strange feeling that it wasn't like that originallyHe closed his eyes as if trying to remember something.Well, whether or not she can actually make it to Abarth's mansion is anyone's guess. However, there's also the issue of what happens if she makes a mistake and gets herself captured by Abarth.Well, in regards to thatMattheus frowned.It could be that she has a few pawns under his control. And quite skilled ones at that.What do you mean?The unicorn I bound together with magic and usedwas killed.At those words, all of Gillette Corps' expressions changed.Even Vivi, who was in the middle of throwing another needle, stopped and turned to look at Mattheus.I thought she was alone. So because I happened upon her in my field of vision, I thought it best to attack. ThenHappened upon her in your field of vision?' Don't be silly. What kind of magician could kill a unicorn at such close range? Nikolay said with a puzzled expression.The magic destroyed it with one direct hit, and it was her magic that did it. There was someone who was buying time for her to charge the spell. If they're still accompanying each other, there could be trouble.Alberic and the others exchanged glances.Still, if all of us went we would stand out. Vivi, Nikolay, I'm sorry, but make the preparations. We shouldn't need to go as far as to cause a quarrel at Count Abarth's mansion, but if worse comes to worse we have to be ready.Understood.Nikolay nodded, and Vivi hopped off of the sofa.It took half the day for them to gather all the tools necessary for the job.When they had left the Acura village most of their tools had been in good condition, but the passage of time had been unkind to them. Some had fallen victim to moisture and others were either broken or corroded to the point of being unusable. None of their consumable items had been preserved either. They would have to re-acquire what they needed in Del Solant, and if that wasn't possible then they had no choice but to buy the base materials and make repairs.Tohru had gone on a bare-bones shopping trip with some money Chaika loaned him. When he got back,Chaika was opening up her strange coffin-like case. He watched her take her Gundo out, and begin to tinker with it.Welcome back, she said, turning to look at Tohru.It looked like Akari was busy setting up in another room. Saboteurs didn't just use melee weapons at times they would use poison, sleeping pills, or even strong acid that was often sealed away behind a lock. There weren't many that sold those sorts of substances, however, so they were often forced to mix and compound them on their own.Any errors made during the handling or mixing of the substances could have disastrous results. For that reason it was best to do all the alchemy in a different room, alone, as often as possible.That asideAhI'm home, Tohru said.?Chaika looked at him and tilted her head, probably because she realized Tohru had been watching her.Problem?Nah, it's nothing. So anyway, what the hellisthat coffin?At Tohru's words, Chaika turned to look at the coffin that was now leaned against the wall.Or rather, what the hell areyou? Wanting to steal something from the count's mansion isn't a normal desireand besides, what's the big idea behind you carrying that coffin everywhere you go?If she was only carrying a Gundo, that would make at least a bit more sense.The coffin was too big to be used as a sleeping bag, and besides, a foldable cloth sleeping bag would be more than sufficient. Furthermore, the coffin appeared to be virtually empty.Coffin, is coffin, Chaika said. Vessel, for deceased.Isn't it empty, though?For now, Chaika replied, her facial expression not changing in the slightest.She spoke as if the coffin was reserved for someone.But who?It probably wasn't an enemy of some kind. If that were the case, there would be no point to mourn for them.Yet it was also hard to imagine it being a close friend. If it were someone close to her, then one would think she would want them to keep on living. Now of course if they were already dead, then that was a different storybut if that were true, then it didn't make any sense for the coffin to still be empty. Perhaps she had heard about her acquaintance's death from afar? But then why did she take special care to carry the coffin with her?Perhapsthis coffin was meant for someone who wouldeventuallydie.For instanceperhaps Chaika herself?Who's the coffin for, then? Someone who's going to die? Or someone who's already dead?Chaika merely shook her head.It was quite ambiguous. Did that mean that she couldn't say? That she didn't know? Tohru was about to press her further whenThing, I need to do.Chaika spoke, plainly.Something that you need to doThing, I need to do. Mission. Duty. Objective. Absolutely must do. Even if, takes lifetime.She gave a sweet smile.Must persevere.Tohru was at a loss for words.Chaika didn't doubt herself in the slightest.This younger girl had already found a purpose in life, and was heading towards it of her own free will.In comparison, what was he doing?Up until this point, he had been denied his life as a saboteurwithout even knowing if it was the right thing for him to do, he had continued to seclude himself in this rural town. Compared to Chaika, he looked downright pathetic.Tohru?Even though Tohru's expression hadn't changed, she had probably picked up on it.She stopped tending to her Gundo, and worriedly peered into Tohru's face.Tohru, strong.The silver-haired girl said it quite out of the blue.Huh?Makes best of, all sorts of things.Ahyou mean my saboteur skills, huh?Yes.Chaika nodded.Goals, can choose. From many.He could see how some people could think that.Saboteurs were people of the anything-goes mentality on the battlefield.Hand-to-hand combat. Knowledge of how to mix chemical explosives. The ability to spread rumors. Not to mention knowing how to rile up people, how to construct strongholds, how to ration and store foodthese skills and more were all part of the job. They were responsible for all the dirty jobs that soldiers and knights, who faced each other head-on, simply could not do.To some people, all these skills would also probably seem quite useful for everyday life.Even if becoming an expert in each of these things was out of the question, if he started seriously applying himself now it would be good enough. If a saboteur felt like it, he could become a hunter, a carpenter, a blacksmith, a merchant, or anything else, really. The potential for a multitude of skills meant that aiming for the top in any of them was probably impossible, but still, it was more than enough to sustain a living.HoweverIWithout knowing why, Tohru felt compelled to tell her his story.He had never spoken about this face-to-face with anyone; not even Akari. Though they were raised in the same village, so she had probably already picked up on it.I want to leave behind some kind of proof that I lived.Proof?Yeah. Being born, living, dyingI want some kind of meaning to all that...The village of Acura was a small village in the valley.To be precise, it was actually a few small neighborhood villages that were collectively referred to as the village of Acura. At any rate, it wasn't very open to the public.Their only connection to the rest of the world was one narrow road, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was a secluded village. But as one might expect, if they completely cut themselves off from everyone else, they wouldn't be able to maintain their livelihood, and so in order to do their jobs properly they had to ensure they had a constant source of information and intelligence.And so it became necessary to allow a certain group of merchants to enter the village on a fixed schedule as acquaintances.The merchants showed up once a month. To the children of the Acura village who spent day after day in rigorous training, there were few greater pleasures. The merchants brought with them news of the outside world, and to Tohru and Akari, it was a wonderful world like something out of a dream. Whenever they had a break in their training, the children would gather around the merchants and ask them all sorts of things. In this group of merchants was a woman named Jasmine Orlo.She was a traveling merchant by nature, having been born and raised in the group. That nature had been so ingrained into her mother that she actually ended up giving birth to her while on the road, in the caravan. She didn't have any particular place she could call home; she was a nomad whose only home was the road. But, she seemed to be quite proud of that fact.It's okay to just live life peacefully.She would say.She would turn her attention to the young saboteurs-to-be, who innocently dreamed of being on the battlefield someday,playing an indispensable role in the fight.See all sorts of different places. Observe and experience all sorts of different things. By doing that, you will be satisfied.But in that case, there would be nothing to leave, said Tohru, who was very young at that time.Jasmine's view of life, her path to happinessthere was no way Tohru would agree with that.When I die, I won't have left anything behind.That's not true, said Jasmine with a smile. I don't need to fight on the battlefield to leave something behind. All the people I meet will remember the things I did. PerhapsHer cheeks flushed slightly red, and she patted her stomach.When my child is born, that child will be proof that I lived. When that child has children, my grandchildren will be proof that I lived. That's becausejust like that, our lives are all connected.At the time, Tohru didn't realize that she had fallen in love with another member of the same group she belonged to, nor that she was already carrying that person's child.And Tohru's failure to realize that was only a depressing fact now.Jasmine had probably been his first love.Of course, looking back on this ten years later, it probably hadn't been romantic love. It was more the type of pseudo-love a kid would harbor towards a parent or close adult friend of the opposite sex. Without being able to understand why, from the bottom of his heart Tohru had wanted to observe Jasmine's happiness.At any rateAfter that, the group Jasmine was traveling with only came to Acura village two more times; however, each time Jasmine's stomach became even more inflated. Each time she and Tohru met, both she and her husband were having distant conversations about the baby on the way.However..On the third time they came to the Acura villageJasmine died.Died!?Most likely, after that buildup with the bittersweet story of first love, she was hoping for a much more pleasant outcome. Suddenly Chaika looked startled at the words tumbling out of Tohru's mouth.She was attacked. It was some bandits or something, ; I'm not really sure.The group of merchants had been annihilated.Jasmine's parents and her husband were both killed. Judging from the weapons that were used, it was probably a group that had defected from the military. Because they frequently traveled through remote regions, the merchant group had hired several bodyguards and were armed; despite this, they were outnumbered.Even now, I remember it like it was yesterday.He had seen it over and over again in his dreams.From playing repeatedly in his head countless times, the memory had already taken root. Even if he wanted to forget it, he would never be able to.The memory had been carved into his soulthat was his cross to bear.* * *AaahhAhhhAgghhAlready, Jasmine had ceased being able to form words, and all that leaked out of her mouth were moans.In fact, how she was still able to make any noise at all was a mysterytruly a marvel worth mentioning. Tohru knew that sometimes when humans were tenacious enough, the results could exceed reason or common sense, but even so there was a limit to that. The fact that Jasmine continued to cling to life even now was nothing short of a small miracle, because a spear was sticking out of her delicate body. She had been pierced in the center of her back, with only the spearhead poking out of her stomach.It was more like she couldn't die. Even though passing away would be much more comfortable, leaving this world was too much for her to bear.AggghhAaaAhJasmine was cradling a tiny lump of cloth delicately in both hands.Wrapped in the cloth was, unbelievablyAaaahhAhAhThe most important thing to herher baby.Jasmine, who had been carrying a small life within her since the beginning of the new year, had finally given birth.Butit was already too late.AhAhPerhaps Jasmine hadn't realized it.Or, perhaps she had realized it, and simply chose to ignore it.The baby had died before its mother had.It was only natural. After all, babies died from the slightest things. Looking at the tragedy that had befallen Jasmine, there was no way the baby could have come out unscathed.As if wishing for a miracle to save her dead child, she continued to hold the bundle reverently as she staggered.As if to say, at least save the child, she faced Tohru, who stood there dumbstruck, and presented him with the baby, who was already cold to the touch.Her lips trembled, and she could barely muster the energy to speak.PleaseJasmine had now used up everything she had.Or perhaps, to put it better, this wounded girl had already run out of energy and died a while back, and by some strange occurrence she was being kept alivelike some kind of afterimage.And so, just like that, all that remained were two dead bodies.No, that's not quite right. Even their corpses would sooner or later decay, fall apart, and eventually disappear.That was what the end result was.For good deeds. For valuable miracles.Anything and everything would all return to zero.That was all there was to it.It was nothing more than a constant, everyday occurrence, and it held true everywhere in the world.Living. Dying. Living. Dying.Before him was just a meaningless, repetitive cycle.You couldn't leave anything behind by merely living.There was no point to being born into this world.That was whyWith a long sigh, Tohru continued his story.We viewed the attack on the merchants who had come to our village the same way we would a direct attack on us. Though we hadn't wouldn't go so far as to call them family, they were people we had cooperated with. So, to ensure that nothing like this ever happened again, we decided it was necessary to make an example' out of the perpetrators.Saboteurs weren't bound to the rules of any country.They would sell out their talent to anyone who desired it.And so there was no way they would let anyone get away with slaughtering one of their partners. They would mercilessly crush the perpetrators with everything they had. It was for the safety of the Acura village, but it was also a good way for them to showcase the skills they had for sale.All together, we found the bandits or whatever they werethe bunch of guys that had attacked Jasmine's groupand annihilated them. We killed every one of them, and left their bodies on the road for all to see.Enemy, destroyed?Yeah.Tohru nodded his head gloomily.Sure, they had destroyed the enemy. Though they weren't able to tell which one of them had personally killed Jasmine and her child, they made sure that all of them got their just desserts. Tohru, too, had participated in the annihilation of the bandits, though he was limited to just standing watch.But that didn't bring Jasmine or her child back to life. She had died pointlessly without leaving anything behind, and there was nothing we could do about it.Chaika only blinked in apparent surprise.Tohru continued on, rather self-deprecatingly.And so that's whyI wanted to change the world itself.World?I wanted to leave behind proof that I had lived. Using all my own strength, I wanted to accomplish something that I could leave for the future. I wanted to keep going until my spirit had burnt out.That was at least better than wishing for peace and stripping away your tusks and fangs, only to vanish pointlessly.In those turbulent times, he would rather leave a scratch on the world before dying.That was what he had thought.And that's why I'm a saboteur. I didn't know of any other path. And for that reason, I trained like my life depended on it. Really.Literally, he had trained to the brink of death.Like he had been obsessed with itI looked forward to my first battle. I could do things that the average knight or soldier couldn't. I didn't want honor or accolades. Ijust wanted to feel that I had changed the world in some way.It was for that reason, he had thought, that he had been born in the Acura village.Telling himself that over and over, Tohru continued to push through his rigorous training.ButThen, the war ended.Combat became frowned upon.The saboteur skills that Tohru had continued to polishthe only means of changing the world that he had at his disposalwere suddenly prohibited. On top of that, saboteurs were now on the run from influential people who regarded them as fear-mongerers who disturb the peace.It was true that saboteurs were well-versed in many things. But as expected, their true strength could be brought out only on the battlefieldwithout that he couldn't change the world. With his skills he could do something like slice potatoes and radishes, but for cooking purposes a kitchen knife was much more suitablelike how you couldn't use a sword for its intended purpose anywhere but in combat.A sword without a battlefield was completely useless.And so, that was the story. He didn't see any benefit in changing his mind after all this time. From then on he hadn't engaged in any more superficial training.ITohru.Chaika called his name as if she had just now realized something.What?Chaika extended her hand and placed her palm upon Tohru's shoulder.Jasmine-san. Meaning, existed.Huh?Tohru, remembers. Will be, on Tohru's mind. Always.That wasJasmine had also said something like that.All the people I meet will remember the things I did.That's right. He couldn't forget that.Then, she asserted more stronglySad story. ButChaika slid her hand off of Tohru's shoulder and across his back. Then with both arms, she embraced his body and clung to him.Waitwhat are you!?Surely, reason for Tohru saving me.As if her hand was searching for something, she began to stroke Tohru's back.Across the wound that he had received from the unicorn, which had still not healed.Huh?This was an unexpected development.Butif he thought about it more, it wasI?Back on the mountain, when they had first met, Tohru probably could have just abandoned Chaika and made a run for it. At the very least, if he hadn't tried to protect her, he probably wouldn't have received that wound. It really was a spur-of-the-moment thingbut why exactly did he act on such a whim?Saboteurs prized rationality just as much as they avoided honor and accolades.That meant that sometimes they were despised as heartless and cruel people.If a saboteur was going to as far as to expose himself to danger to save another person, there had better be a good reason for doing it.But at that time, Tohru had risked his life to protect a girl he had only just met. What reason did he have for doing that? Rather, in that situation, ditching the stupid girl and escaping would have been the more rational option by far. So why had he not decided to do that?IChaika couldn't be more different from Jasmine.As a matter of fact, one would be hard-pressed to find any similarities between the two.ButstillTo Jasmine-san. Am grateful.Chaika said, still embracing Tohru.With her right hand, she gently caressed the wound on Tohru's back.Tohru was at a loss for words.Chaika's reasoning was rather high-handed, as if she was trying to force a cause from the effect by making it up on the spot. Even if the Jasmine incident never happened, Tohru probably would have found another reason to protect Chaika. His entire set of values wasn't based on the Jasmine incident alone.However, that incident had actually greatly influenced Tohru's present character.Just like that, all our lives are connected.Giving birth to life.Saving a life.If both of these things could similarly connect lives to each other, then perhapsIncidentally, an icy voice inquired, I would greatly love to know what your intentions are with your current actions.!?Tohru pushed Chaika away in a panic.He had merely been going along with the mood, but to someone who had just entered the room behind him it probably looked like Tohru and Chaika had been hugging each other.Wait, this isn'tthis is justPanicked, Tohru turned towards the voice.Akari stood there, expressionless as always, butin her hand was a wooden pestle.Most likely she had been using it to break down and mix the newly-bought ingredients- the tip was coated with a fine, brightly-colored powder, probably poison.Nii-sama.With a quick, sharp motion, Akari pointed the pestle at Tohru.If you have any excuse, I'd like to hear it.Ahno. That is to say, you're wrong. This was, Chaika was, to the wound on my back, she wasWhat reason did he have to be so flustered? Though even he himself didn't know, he kept making excuses.If she was simply doing a medical examination of your back, wouldn't it make more sense for her to go around you to examine it?Youcan't you let me finish explaining just this once!? shouted Tohru.During all this, Chaika was just looking back and forth in puzzlement at Tohru and Akari's exchanges, appearing as though she had no idea whether or not she had done anything wrong. To her, there really weren't any deeper suggestions behind touching Tohru's wounded back.My goodness, it appears even Nii-sama is hopeless. You're finally interested in doing some work after all this time, and then you go and seduce our client.She shrugged her shoulders as if to imply good grief. However, she was as usual near-expressionless, so the gesture just looked terrifying.Are you implying I often make moves on people? Tohru groaned.You mean you wouldn't?I wouldn't.Tohru glared at Akari.Besides, I haven't done anything here, either. Chaika was justthis, my back, she was merely checking the wound on it. It's nothing I should feel guilty for. If you'd just looked closer, you would have understood, Tohru said, pointing to Chaika.Of course, Chaika only blinked and tilted her head quizzically, completely innocent. Actually, speaking of innocence, Tohru had never asked her age, but exactly how the hell old was she? She vaguely had the appearance of being in her middle teens, but if that was the case then she should know exactly what embracing a member of the opposite sex implied.But that asideI see. All right. That is indeed my Nii-sama.Akari nodded with satisfaction.My Nii-sama tries to protect pure maidens, and even I have to admire that incredible sense of virtue.I doubt you really believe that.And so, Chaika Trabant'.She once again pointed the wooden pestle, this time towards Chaika.Mui?Even if you are our client,there's no way I can hand over Nii-sama's virginity to you. But if you're determined to take it at any cost, then let's play rock-paper-scissors for it.Seriously, rock-paper-scissors? Actually, just shut up for eternity! Tohru shouted, striking the wall.They decided to start the mission in the dead of night.Aside from the obvious reason that attacking in broad daylight would be way too reckless, Chaika had to bring her coffin with her Gundo inside to cast magic. Carrying that out in the open would draw attention, and there was nothing to gain from that. For that reason, Tohru's group opted to move after most of the town had fallen asleep.Now then he muttered.The wealthy part of town was surrounded by a row of trees. He was standing on top of the roof of a house about the same height as the trees, focused on the count's mansion.As the crow flies, the distance between the two buildings was about a hundred meters. Moving along the rooftops, Tohru could cover that distance on foot in four breathsapproximately fifteen secondseven when carrying his entire arsenal of equipment and weapons. If he used Iron-Blood Transformation he could cut down the time even more, but, since he couldn't stay in that form for long, using it immediately wasn't a good idea.No changes around the mansion, it seems. We'll proceed as discussed.Understood.With a nod, Akari reached out her right hand and pulled someone up from the edge of the roof. It was Chaika, wearing a collar like a kitten's. Tohru had already pulled up her coffin, and it now rested at his feet.Do we really have to bring this thing? Tohru looked down at it, nonplussed.It didn't have to be on her person at all times, but whenever the coffin was out of her sight, Chaika seemed to panic. Tohru had suggested putting the Gundo's components in an inconspicuous bag, but she had stubbornly refused to listen.By nature wizards were already unsuited for close combat, but Chaika's movements were all the more restricted due to the burden of the coffin, not to mention that she was petite to start with. It would be much more preferable for her to stay behind and support them from another location, but then they would have no way of confirming what the item they were to supposed to take actually was. So, she had to tag along.At the very least, taking it into the mansion is gonna be tough. Why notNo. Chaika glared at Tohru sharply. Other options, none.Any way you look at it it'll definitely make our job harder, he muttered.Tohru went over their strategy in his head.Their task was ultimately to seize a certain thing from the count's mansion. They weren't required to assassinate the count or take down the fortress or anything, so the difficulty of this mission was relatively low. However, the problem lay in the fact that Tohru and Akari had no idea what that certain thing even was.To be more precise, the problem was that they didn't know how it was being stored, much less what it looked like.It was like trying to pin down a cloud.Based on what Chaika had told them, it seemed to be something related to magic. It could have been a part of something else, or it could simply be shut up in a vault or a safe.In the end, there was no choice but to have Chaika, a wizard, go to the scene herself to check. If it was left up to the uninformed Tohru and Akari, they could very well end up taking something that wasn't related at all. There was also the possibility that the Count Roberto Abarth was the cautious type and had prepared a decoy.Tohru and Akari would have to raid the mansion while escorting Chaika with her coffin in tow. Of course it had been Chaika herself that had hired the two of them, which meant that she understood her own weaknesses. In addition to being somewhat slow-witted, her skill set was not in any way suited for thievery or close-combat. Whether it be breaking in and swiftly snatching the object or stealthily carrying it away, Chaika was completely the wrong class for bothand so she needed some help.Well, whatever. Let's go. Akari, I'll be counting on you here.Understood, she replied with a nod.With that, Tohru kicked off the roof.His boots were covered in soft resin to prevent wear-and-tear, and that together with his flexible knees ensured he made virtually no sound as he moved. He headed straight for the count's mansion, leaping from building to building in almost complete silence.Thanks to last night's reconnaissance, they knew how the guards were stationed.There were watchtowers to the north, south, east, and west of the mansion. They overlooked the grounds, and the spots the towers weren't able to reach were covered by guards that patrolled the area on a fixed schedule. As far as crime prevention systems for nobles go, it was a pretty standard, elementary setup.Because the estate had probably been designed to hold upwards of a hundred servants,it would be wise to consider them as potential threats and parts of the mansion's security. Thanks to the long period of wars, it was common to find people who were well-versed in martial arts.Of course, the idea of defeating all those servantswas unthinkable.Instead,Tohru's plan was to narrow down the places where the item could be based on the structure of the mansion, and then secure a safe route where Akari could bring along Chaika.He had on the battle outfit he hadn't worn in a long time.He was equipped with the weapon he almost never used.Armed with these things, Tohru could feel his spirits lifting.The Acura village was constructed for the purpose of battle, and had continued to serve that purpose.Tohru, who was born and raised there, was also built for the purpose of battle. He lived for it.People had died in the middle of their training, even before going out and experiencing real combat. Swords that would never be wielded, hat had rusted and broke without even being unsheathed from their scabbards. To Tohru, the thought of that was fear itself.Humans would, someday, die.And so he wanted to make his mark on the worldsome kind of proof that he had lived.A purpose for being bornaccomplishing that goal was his reason for living.Accomplishing that, and then dyingthat was the way to live life.And soBut, this isn't a battlefield, Tohru muttered in self-mockery.This was simple thievery.And yetOh well.Tohru leapt into the air.He took out a tiny mirror from his bag and waved it behind him.Twisting his body while in the air, he released a thin chain that was fitted in the cuff of his sleeve. There was a weighted claw at the end, and when he threw it it sailed over the high wall surrounding the mansion and latched onto the peak of one of the watchtowers.Nn! A sharp noise passed over Tohru's head.Actually, it was the exact opposite of a noise.A vacuum with the capability to forcefully cut off all sound from around it stretched out in a narrow, squiggly line and hit the watchtower directly. Tohru was able to hear the noise because all the troublesome faint noises in the watchtower's vicinity, like the night wind or chirping of crickets, were also extinguished.He traced a large pendulum in the air and grappled to the middle section of the watchtower.He stole a furtive glance above him.He couldn't tell if any guards were moving up there or not.Because of the magic vacuum, any sounds that Tohru's chain might have made were completely absorbed into it. Needless to say, the magic was Chaika's doing. According to her, it was some kind of void magic, named The Sucker, that sucked most noises into it.Okay.Having confirmed that he had all his weapons and tools, he began to climb up.The guards patrolling the area only came around about once every hour.Conversely, that meant that if he could silence the guards on the watchtower within that hour, he wouldn't be discovered.There.There were two of them atop the watchtower, and that area was already small enough to not be conspicuous to anyone else. For better or for worse, it was a place that was designed only for watching over the surroundings. If there hadn't been any railing, just the slightest shoulder bump from a comrade could send someone straight off the edge.It turns out it didn't go too well for the merchant's little brother.I've already heard this one, man.Two middle-aged men were leaning against the railing, engaging in idle gossip.Tohru saw his opportunity and quickly pulled himself up on top of the watchtowerHuh!?Tohru struck one of the guards' vital spots from the back, silencing him, and the second guard only had time to let out a short scream before he was struck in the same way. It was quick workit only took an instant.By the way, Tohru had dealt with the guards without using his weapons. Not out of the goodness of his heart, nor some manifestation of moral sensibility; it was simply that the smell of blood drifting from this area would alert the other guards to foul play, so killing would have been a rash action.The two middle-aged guards were sitting in place, unconscious.Tohru deliberately brought one to his feet, and by connecting his body to the fence and post with a thin string, was able to give the impression that the guard was still on watch.In order to prevent enemies from invading, most strongholds had strange, complex structures within their wallsbecause of this, it was easy to go into hiding. The purpose of a watchtower was to spot these hiding places from above.It was true that the count's estate had four watchtowers, but now one parta blind spot in the area that the four towers looked overhad been created. With this, it was possible for Akari to come through and bring Chaika along the path. Without delay, Tohru began to search for the shortest possible route to where the important thing might reside. If, during the raid, someone saw him, he would put that person to sleep as well, which would further increase the blind spot.Here we go.He descended by hanging the chain down and coming down the same way he went up.Then he continued towards the mansion, this time moving undercover.* * *From the watchtower shone a reflection of the moonlight. That was the signal.All right.Akari nodded to herself, and then gave a nod to Chaika.Chaika had the coffin on her back as she clung to Akari.Hold on tight.Understood.Akari. Chaika. And the coffin.The coffin itself was actually empty, but still looked quite heavyhowever, Akari was carrying both Chaika and the coffin effortlessly, without a single change in expression.I am steel.She began to chant the words to activate Iron-Blood Transformation.At the same time that all of her muscles contracted, her hair, flowing out behind her, was tinged by the color of blood.Steel knows no fear. Steel knows no doubt. When faced with my enemy, I hesitate not. I am a weapon to destroy them.In an instant, Akari had doubled her muscle strength. She kicked off and began to run down the roof.Moving from one inconspicuous place to another, Tohru reached the mansion at last. Inside, he made his way around with the aid of a blueprint that he had drawn up beforehand based on the mansion's exterior.The mansion's internal structure ended up falling within his expectations. However? Tohru raised his eyebrows. This place was strangely devoid of personnel.There had been a standard amount of guards outside, but in here almost all of the lights were already out and there was nothing to suggest that anyone waspatrolling around. Come to think of it, the only thing keeping him from entering in the first place had been a lock-and-key setupthe absolute minimum level of securitywhich Tohru was easily able to bypass.What is up with this place?Something felt strangely off in here. What was it? Tohru couldn't exactly put it into words, but he had a vague feeling of discomfort. Truth be told, this was actually the first time he had set foot in a house belonging to anyone wealthy, let alone nobility, so it was possible that his unease stemmed simply from not being used to the environment.Regardless, there should definitely be people hereIt felt almost as if he had been swallowed by a large creature.Now's not the time to be concerned with that, though.Tohru gave his head a little shake as if to shake off his uncomfortable feeling.There can only be so many places where something valuable would be kept.Since it wasn't a work of art or anything, it was unlikely to be kept in a warehouse or storage room. But it probably wouldn't be put up as a decoration in the hallways either.So that leftThe center of the mansion. His own bedroom or office, or perhaps a room he can get to from there quickly.Those kinds of rooms were generally located around the same area.So, around here then.Though Tohru wasn't completely sure, he headed toward where he thought the cluster of rooms must be, the center of the mansion.Come to think of it, Akari and Chaika should be entering the mansion right about now, he realized.Tohru went into a room that looked like an office. Of course, there weren't any lights on since it was late at night, and all the windows were shut, so there was no moonlight coming in either. It was completely dark. But!?In the next instant, Tohru whirled around.He had sensed a sign of life. Someone was here.ThenHm.Light filled the room.The light wasn't from a candle or a gas lamp. In an instant, it was bright enough to blind Tohru, and that could only be the work of magic. There was probably such a device somewhere. Though it would be unthinkable for commoners to have one, they would occasionally show up in houses of nobility and royalty.A thief, is it? My, my.There, in the center of the spacious office, stood a single middle-aged man.He was large, with blonde hair. He had a broad-shouldered physique, elegant facial features and his ornate pajamas accented with gold and silver thread made his pedigree quite clear.This had to be Roberto Abarth, owner of this mansion.Here I had asked you to leave, and you couldn't even go a day without resorting to theft. As I thought, countryside nobles have no class.?Tohru was confused. He didn't understand what this guy was talking about at all.No matter. I was just thinking that having nothing to use my precious treasure on was getting a bit boring. You might be a lowly thief, but to be able to creep in this far must mean you're not a complete amateur. Am I right? The count walked across his office as he spoke. There was a hint of amicability in his voice.On the count's neck was a collar that he was clearly trying to keep hidden, but Tohru noticed it anyway. Something that looked like a thin cord came from the collar and ran down the count's back and crept along the floor towards one of the office walls, where it passed through the wall and seemed to cut off somewhere else.To Tohru, he looked like a dog on aleash.Itwas a bizarre sight. HoweverSo what?Tohru prepared himself.Butthere was something he didn't understand.This uncomfortable feeling.He had felt that something wasn't right, and the instant the count had shown himself, that feeling had shot up to its peak.Then!?The count's strange, incomprehensible behavior had made him wary of any guards that might have been around, so he had been prepared, but even so it was mostly due to complete luck that he had managed to dodge it in time.Something had come flying off the wall with an incredible amount of force.In an instant, he had bent his body downward, dodging it by a hair.It had grazed past him, ripping off the mask he was using to hide his face.Jumping out of the way to avoid another possible attack, Tohru took a moment to look behind him at what had flown by, and he realized that it was a long sword that had been hanging on the wall only mere seconds ago. Most likely it was intended for display purposes and not actual battleon its hilt was a decoration that looked way too over-the-top to actually be taken seriously in a fight, and above that was a blade so brittle that it would probably break immediately if used in combat. This long sword was now embedded in the wall, still trembling from the impact. ButWhat the hell!?There was no one in the direction the sword had come from.Of course, it had been a different place from where the count was standing. And it had been in a place that the count wouldn't have been able to reach, even if he stretched out his arm.So how in the world did he execute an attack like that?I see. This is quite the situation. Now that I get a good look, where did you accumulate all that training at such a young age?!Not good. The count had seen his face.Butthere was no time for Tohru to be unnerved. As for whyWell then, how about this?At the count's words, all kinds of things from inside the room suddenly flew straight at Tohru.A vase, an ashtray, a pen, a picture frame, a candlestick, some cutlery, and other such objects. The count never laid a hand on any of themone by one they rose up abruptly of their own will and flew towards Tohru at a murderous speed.Tch!?Tohru unsheathed the pair of comblades at his waist.The tattooed design on his palms synced up with the design on the hilt of the comblades, and Tohru's senses were heightened. He grasped the comblades, which had now intuitively and literally become a part of him, and knocked away the items that were flying at him.I get it.At that moment, Tohru realized something.The count had a collar. That could only meanYou bastardyou're a wizard, aren't you?Of course I am. You didn't think that only swordsmen could attain military accolades, did you? he sneered.Yes. The count was a magic user. That collar he was wearing was probably a device to connect himself with his Gundo. It had to be magic that was making the items in the room fly one after another.ButHow is he using magic like this?No matter how many times they were knocked down, the objects rose up into the air and then attacked Tohru once more. There was no doubt that this was the work of magic. HoweverWhere's the spell-chanting? No, first off, what kind of magic is this!?Magic was something that required the positions of both yourself and your opponent to be clearly defined, and things like range, direction, temperature and level of humidity also had to be considered, for they could greatly influence a spell's effectiveness. For that reason, wizards could not fight on the front lines. To swordsmen specializing in front-line combat, wizards that had to sluggishly register and adjust their magic must have looked like they were merely humming a tune.But the count wasn't chanting any spells.Furthermore, he wasn't even taking the distance between himself and Tohru, or anything else, into account. He was attacking much too early for that. And how was he able to continuously attack?Haha, a swordsman being overwhelmed by a wizard such as I in a face-to-face encounter? Truly superb.The count laughed.His voice, filled with prideful scorn, like that of a cat teasing a mouse, caused Tohru's expression to distort dramatically. This guy was convinced that he had already won. He was probably thinking he could kill Tohru at any time he wanted, so he wanted to play with him for a little bit longer.Don't take me so lightly!With a spin he knocked away the count's projectiles, sunk down to the floor, and in the next moment, sprung at the count with all his might. However spacious the room was, it was really only a room, so with Tohru's leg strength he could close the distance between his comblades and the count in a second. HoweverTohru met with some resistance in the air.Something he couldn't see stopped his attack, and sent him flying backwards. By twisting his body Tohru was able to land on the wall, which stopped his momentum and let him get down on the floor. If he had not assumedukemi1 and crashed into the wall instead, he probably would have broken a boneor several.What was that just now? groaned Tohru.However, contrary to his utterance he had now realized a few things.There hadn't been any guards inside the mansion to begin with because they weren't necessary. With that kind of strength, the count could instantly finish off any regular old intruder all by himself. Noin fact, the reason why there were no other people showing up because they would only be a hindrance if they were to get involved. A bit ago when the count had been making the items fly, Tohru had been his only target, so he didn't need to have very good throwing accuracy. If someone else were to carelessly enter the fray, there was a good chance that person would end up getting mixed up in it.My, aren't you stubborn. Though I would expect no less. The count nodded.But, how about this?The items that until now had been thrown one after another all rose up in the air at once. Tohru was completely surrounded.Now die, thief.A sadistic smile spread across the count's lips.In that momentNii-sama!A shout rang out, and a single throwing knife came whistling past.It headed straight for the count, but then in the next moment it stopped in the airall of its momentum died and it fell to the floor, useless. At the same time, all the floating items also fell to the ground with a loud clatter, as if their strings had been cut.ThenStay back, Akari, this guy's dangerous! Tohru shouted as he turned toward the room's entrance and retreated.Akari had another knife ready in her left hand and her favorite hammer ready in her right.Nii-sama, what is he?A wizard, probablybut he's trouble. He doesn't use a wand, and he hasn't chanted even one spell.Oh?In an instant, Akari seemed to have grasped how strange this situation was. It was magic that allowed the user to execute a throwing action over and over again without the use of a wand and without needing to chant spells. Was there even any sort of magic like that?HoweverWizard? Chaika popped out from behind Akari's back. She had reacted to Tohru's words, probably because she was also a wizard. ButDon't show yourself!Tohru simply didn't have the leeway to protect the dim-witted Chaika. Up until now, he hadn't even had the time to chant the keywords for Iron-Blood Transformation. No, even now, if he chanted them here without thinking, a sword or something else would definitely come flying!No. Nothing was flying at him.On the contrary, Count Roberto Abarth had a stunned expression on his face, and even staggered forward a step.YouHe appeared to be gasping for airthis wizard who up until now had looked down at Tohru with an arrogant demeanor. Now, that had crumbled, and his mouth opened and closed like a beached fish as he stuttered.Ridiculousyouyou're supposed to be dead!?Who was he directing those words to?Certainly not Tohru or Akari.Which meantDead?Was it this girl tilting her head quizzically, Chaika Trabant?But thenThis is insane. Back thenback then, you were definitely!With that scream, the items inside the room rose up again.Everyone, let's run! Tohru shouted.He picked Chaika up in his arms, and he and Akari ran out of the room and down the hallway.Magic. Gundo , mansion itself, most likely, Chaika said, her arms linked with Tohru's as he carried her.As they ran through the mansion, Tohru had filled them both in on his brief confrontation with the master of the house. In the face of such irrational magic, Tohru had wanted to hear what an expert on the subject had to say.The mansion itself? Though Tohru muttered it reflexivelyI see. He actually understood.The count hadn't been chanting anything, and he wasn't carrying any sort of Gundo.Naturally, if his Gundo was the mansion itself.Though it was called a Gundo, the truth was its form didn't have to be that of a cane or wand. 1 As long as it included all the functions of one, it didn't matter what it was shaped like. In fact, it was easier to make it larger than smaller.And so, it was indeed magic. Tohru had initially thought that the count had been using magic on each item individually to throw them, but that was incorrect.He was simply using magic to create an unseen hand, one that moved according to his will.Of course, such magic required a particularly long period of startup, so a suitably large Gundo was required; however, after all this time that was probably no longer a problem.And he hadn't chanted anything eitherAlong with controlling how effective a spell was, chants were used to set up and adjust the aim down to the smallest detail; however, he mansion didn't move and everything inside it was within effective range, including the count himself, so he could simply stand in a fixed position and activate magic without even having to aim at anything. Since that was the case, adjustment wasn't necessary in the first place.In other words, perhaps the mansion and that guy are one and the same Tohru muttered.Now that uncomfortable feeling he was having made sense. The scope of the count's magic, his unseen hand, probably covered the entire mansion. The magic was what had made him feel so strange. Naturally, since Tohru and the others were technically running around in their opponent's body, so to speak.No, wait a minute.Suddenly, Tohru stopped running.Nii-sama? Akari stopped as well and turned to look at her brother.There's nobody else in the mansion and also, a bit agoThere hadn't been anybody else in the mansionor at the very least no one had bothered to come running to respond to the uproar that Tohru and company had made. And that was most likely because it was difficult for the count to distinguish between a trespasser and an ally.So I guess it really is a hand'.It couldn't see or hear; all it had to determine Tohru and the others' locations was its sense of touch.And that meantHe can only do one thing at a timeThe count only had one invisible hand.If that wasn't the case, there wouldn't have been any reason for the items thrown at Tohru to fall to the ground once the hand had caught Akari's throwing knives in midair.Or perhaps the count had just reached his limit with the magic. When all the objects were floating in the air, they were probably being scooped up all at once rather than being thrown one at time.Chaika.Mui?If you were in the count's shoes, where in this mansion would you put the core of a Gundo?As for location: outer area, little effect.So the center of the mansion then, Tohru muttered. With that, Tohru set Chaika down.Akari, take Chaika and search for the count's Gundo. I'll keep him occupied. As far as his current means of attack is concerned, he can probably only attack one place at a time. At the very least, he can't use two hands at once. While I'm dealing with him, you two sever the source of his power.Understood.Akari gave a nod of confirmation, and with that, Tohru turned a corner and dashed away, leaving the two of them behind.* * *Count Roberto Abarth was none too pleased.He had been so close to wiping out that thief once and for all, but despite his best efforts he had failed.And after the trouble I went through to set it' up for use. This isn't amusing in the least.During the wars, he had tasted the bitterness of ridicule at the hands of knights and cavaliers.Sure, a wizard's magic was flashy, but because their abilities could only be used from the rear, taking the vanguard position was out of the question. And so, fighting without help was basically impossibleand for that, many knights and cavaliers and the like viewed wizards in contempt. Even the general public often equated wizards with being knights' valets, or even merely weapons in reserve.To begin with, the legacy of wizards was shallow compared to that of other warriors.Until the Gundo, which allowed for the abbreviation of rituals and chants, came about, the mere act of standing on the battlefield was no small feat for them. And the first nation to implement the Gundo was the country of the Emperor himself, the Gaz Empire. In short, from the onset wizards were often given harsh treatment.And from the start, the Abarths had been a military family.Within their long history, many of the heads had accumulated feats of arms. Of course, not all of them throughout the years could exactly be called warriors, but in general being an Abarth meant that you excelled in martial arts. Their creed was that a person was to be raised by his environment.Naturally, Roberto too had been drilled in martial artsat first.But then one day when he was ten, he had shattered the bone of his right arm at the elbow.Thanks to medical treatment, it didn't impact his daily life and he was able to move his arm, but the doctors told him that he would never be able to swing a sword again.That day, Roberto's own hell began.His father, mother and even his attendants stopped putting their hopes and expectations on him and regarded him as completely useless. Their general behavior towards him stayed the same, but the slight difference in their actions and wording made it easy to tell.He would no longer be able to wield a sword.In that case, he had to attain some other form of military might in the sword's stead.So he thought he'd try his hand at magic. He thought that if he could achieve success as a wizard, he might be able to retain his military honor even without a sword.And that was why he had desperately participated in that last battleto attain military accolades as a wizard.To be honest, he had many brushes with death in the process, but he managed to survive and in the end, even procured a special reward, bestowed upon only a select few.And that rewardthe very thing connected to the control center of the Gundo that was now placed inside his bedroom like a family heirloom would bewas something he had used to magnify his magical power through this whole mansion.With his own hands and the magic literally did take the shape of a hand, he had finally acquired the power to strangle all those knights and cavaliers. On top of that, he could do it at close range. In order to be able to use it to his heart's content, he had informed his servants that they were no longer needed. Any allies who hung around would actually be virtually indistinguishable from enemies.NonethelessThat girl.The girl that had been standing behind that thief. She was supposed to be dead. She should have been killed.No, that wasn't all. Even if by some miracle she had somehow managed to survive, it had been five years since then. Why did she look like she hadn't grown at all? For someone of her age, five years was quite a large gap, yet her appearance hadn't changed in the leastwhy?No, that's not important right now Roberto muttered, forcibly smothering the growing anxiety inside him. At any rate, if I failed to kill her then, all I have to do is finish her off properly this time.Of course, she had to be dead though. Rather, if he hadn't finished her off, that would pose a problem.And so he saw no issues with killing her for real this time.Now thenHe walked through the hallway, his cord dragging along the floor.This time I'll crush you, you thief.The thief stood in front of him in the hallway.He didn't hide or run away.To Roberto it even looked a bit like he was hanging his head in resignation.ButWhen faced with my enemies, I will not hesitate. I am a weapon to destroy them.The thief seemed to be muttering something incomprehensible, and his hair was!Roberto raised his eyebrows in surprise.The thief's hair had turned completely red.Red, like the color of blood.YouHe had heard of them.A cavalier's honor, a soldier's pridethese things meant nothing to them. They lived solely for the sake of battle itself. It was their reason for existing. The jacks-of-all-trades that lived on the battlefield, the saboteurs. One of their secret skills was calling out a keyword, a few sentences that when chanted would power them up.You're a saboteur!!The thief, exhaling sharply, leapt right at Roberto.In a single blow, Akari destroyed the door with her hammer.She had already exhausted her time limit for Iron-Blood Transformation, but her normal strength was more than enough for a mere door.Supposing that the Gundo's magic was being cast from a fixed location, there was no need for it to adjust according to distance or direction. Taking into consideration that even something as small as a change in temperature or humidity could affect its magic, however, allowed her to narrow down the possible places where the Gundo could be located. Optimally, it would have to be in a place with as little possible interference.That meant that it was probably in the mansion's center.Namely, the room right next to his officethe count's bedroom.Now, where is it? she wondered aloud. She proceeded to destroy everything inside: the bed, the desk, even the candlesticks. Every piece of furniture in the room was utterly annihilated.It was clear that the count's magic was dangerous. Tohru was in his Iron-Blood Transformation form, so she didn't imagine that he would just lose outright. But even so, it was true that the count had repelled the throwing daggers, and he used magic that allowed him to throw things at a deadly speed. Tohru and Akari thought of it as an invisible hand. Against something like that, his trusty projectiles and melee tactics would be rendered useless. Tohru had no way of defeating him.Furthermore, remaining in Iron-Blood Transformation beyond the time limit would cause his body to self-destruct, so he needed to deactivate it early enough.However, doing so would probably get him killed.Chaika pointed to a tear in the wall that Akari's hammer had made.Take this!Akari stepped forward, twirling her hammer. She hooked the hammer onto the tear and pulled. The wallpaper came off, and along with it splinters of wood, revealing that the wall had been fake. There, past the wall, was an excessively large object that looked to her like a blood vessel radiating pale blue light.!With a cry, Akari brought her hammer down on the blood vessel-like object. ButWhat?!The hammer bounced off with a dull sound.Could this bethe same thing that happened with the throwing knives!?Thinking it over, though, of course there would be something like this. The magic would be destroyed if the Gundo was, so there was no way the count would leave his Gundo unattended without a few countermeasures.Magic With a nod, Chaika set down the coffin she was carrying, and with it the Gundo that was fastened on top. She got to work setting it up.Magic, will cancel. After that, destroy.Hurry, then! Akari shouted.* * *Basically, this was a hand. That much Tohru understood.It was magic that created a large invisible hand. That was how it was able to do things like block and throw. It could do everything a normal hand could do, which meant that it probably also searched its surroundings by using the sense of touch. That would explain why it was hard for the count to differentiate between an intruder and an ally.No, that wasn't all. He couldn't use two hands; he could only use one. That was why all the objects it was carrying had fallen to the floor as soon as he blocked Akari's throwing dagger. However, the hand was able to perform two or more actions simultaneously, as long as they were the same action. The count was able to throw multiple things at once, after all.So that meansHe evaded the objects flying toward him, continuing to mull it over.It's a matter of his attention no, his concentration.However exceptional magic was, in the end, it came down to the wizard's control.Concentration was one of the foundations of controlling magic. If something happened to a wizard's concentration, then they wouldn't be able to exercise control. They would no longer be able to use their magic freely.Awfully restless, aren't you?And you're slow. After all, you're a wizard.Tohru countered the count's remark with another one designed to provoke him.Silence, you third-rate saboteur!A roar rang out in the air. It was an attack that no regular eye would be able to see, yet Iron-Blood Transformation Tohru noticed it from the heat of the friction in the air. He dodged it effortlessly and went for a direct attack.ButHngh!The count's hand had probably returned to its masterit had most likely put itself in front of Tohru to block his attack, which bounced right off. It was as he thoughtno matter what type of attack he tried he would not be able to reach the count.And that wasn't allNow then. This is checkmate.The count's expression suddenly changed to one of absolute elation.You realize that you're cornered, don't you?Tohru remained silent.But he knew what the count meant.This was a very long stretch of hallway with no branching pointsbehind him was nothing but a dead end. He was trapped.And all the count had to do was send the hand straight at him.With that, the hand would completely fill the hallway, and the count only had to send it flying forward to slam him into the wall, crushing him.Now then, perish. And rest assured, as soon as I'm done with you, that girl I failed to kill is next.By 'girl you failed to kill,' you must mean Chaika.Chaika? Ah, yes, thatwasher name, wasn't it?The count smiled sadistically.It seems like you came into contact with this girl without knowing about her. How pitiful. After all, you're a saboteurjust a dog unable to choose his master, completely useless in the current era.You're basically right.Tohru spoke.But there's just one thing you got wrong. Allow me to educate you.What?This isn't checkmate.The count raised his brows. What a miserable display of bravado. Very well then, time to dieThere's something you should know about saboteurs, Tohru muttered. We're not like knights or cavaliers or anything like that.The moment he finished saying those words, it happened.The floor underneath the count's feet suddenly gave way.Tohru had been cutting into the floor with his pair of swords as he ran. Of course, there was no point to destroying the floor immediately, but Tohru, who had realized earlier that the count was using the long stretch of hallway to try to back him into a corner, was also able to surmise that the count would make the hand as wide as the hallway and try to thrust it at him. It went without saying that such an attack would put quite the burden on the walls, the ceiling, and of course, the floor.What!?On instinct the count used the hand to break his fall. But there was no need. Even with Tohru in Iron-Blood Transformation mode, it was impossible for him to cut all the way through to the ceiling of the floor below. Since the count's fall had stopped at just the floorboards, it was unlikely to give Tohru a free opening to attack.In other words, this was merely a tactic designed to catch the count off guard.!The count noticed Tohru's short sword heading right for his face.The count sent the hand he was using to support himself up to block the attack.The sword bounced off and flew into the air, but thenAgh!?The count saw another short sword heading towards him.The first one had been a bluff, and the true one right behind him was traveling nearly the same trajectory. The count had only made the hand block the first sword, so the second one sailed past and stabbed into his shoulder.Guuh!? the count grunted.Then, in the next moment, from both the count's shoulder and the ceiling where the first sword had stuck, the two swords leapt back into Tohru's hands. Thin threads were tied to both of the hilts, and he had pulled them back.The two swords fit snugly into his hands.Then!?The unsettling feeling that had been surrounding Tohru suddenly disappeared. The count also noticed it and his eyes went wide.You bastard!It looks like Chaika and Akari were able to break your Gundo.Impossible! That girl's a wizard, too!?Huh? Tohru furrowed his brows at the surprised count raising his voice.It seemed like this guy knew a lot about Chaika, but he didn't know that she was a wizard? He had figured they probably come across each other from being in the same line of work, but apparently he had been mistaken.And thenTohru!From a corner of the hallway behind the count, he saw Chaika and Akari appear.Retreat, retreat! Mission, accomplished! Chaika called. She held up something for Tohru to see. It looked like a glass jar.It seemed like that was what she had been looking for, butUnderstood.With just that, Tohru kicked off the ground and leapt over the count, who was in a sitting position, covering up his shoulder.You!?He seemed surprised that Tohru had not delivered the finishing blow. With an astonished expression, he turned to look at Tohru, but he had already disappeared from the hallway with Chaika and Akari as if he had completely lost interest.Let's get out of here. Akari. Smoke bomb, now!Understood, Nii-sama.With a nod, she took some smoke bombs out of a bag strapped to her lower back.Together, Tohru and Akari picked up Chaika under their arms and lifted her up as they continued to run with all their might.* * *Escaping the mansion took a bit of effort. Through the use of smoke bombs, they deceived the collective gazes of the count's hired hands while buying enough time for the explosive powder they had set up beforehand to detonate. Of course, they hadn't been able to mix and prepare a ton of the stuff, but it was enough to divert the attention of the guards around the mansion.In any caseThat was something, huh?Having run all the way back to the trees without stopping, Tohru let out a deep sigh. He had already dissolved his Iron-Blood Transformation along the way. If he had continued to use it, his body would have been destroyed. As a rule, he could only have it active for several minutes.But that asideIn the end, though, we botched that pretty bad. It's a miracle we were somehow able to escape.If it had gone how they originally planned, they wouldn't have needed to have a face-to-face encounter with the count. It seemed like the count had gotten him confused with someone else.By the way, is that thing there what you were looking for?Yes. She showed the thing that she was cradling in her arms to Tohru. It was a cylinder, so clear that you could see the contents.And inside wasThisthing we took back.Enclosed inside the cylinder that Chaika was so proudly holding upwas a disembodied left hand.