Claudia was walking alone, away from the village.
Her sword still hung at her waist.
Instead, she held a bow and arrows in her hands, tracking her prey.
It was a hunt.
The beastkin like Claudia, who had no interactions with humans, lived mostly self-sufficient lives.
On rare occasions, they would trade with merchants from Snowlake…
But those were exceptions. As a rule, they had no dealings with humans.
“Hah!”
Claudia loosed an arrow, and the deer collapsed.
That single animal was enough to feed the entire village.
She offered thanks for its life.
After a brief prayer, Claudia began to carry the deer back when—
“Who are you?”
“……”
Without a sound, five men appeared.
Dressed all in black, their faces hidden by masks.
From their build alone, it was clear they were men.
Ignoring Claudia’s question, the men drew daggers.
The blades glistened faintly, as if coated.
Poison.
Realizing this, Claudia’s expression hardened slightly.
“Poison, is it…? If killing me were your goal, such things wouldn’t be necessary. Most likely, it’s a paralytic. So your aim is to take me alive?”
“……”
The men gave no reply.
They simply surrounded her in silence, slowly closing the distance.
When they reached the range for a sure kill, they moved all at once.
Charging in from every direction to block off her escape,
then slashing simultaneously.
Strikes closing in from front, back, left, and right.
And because they attacked together, it was nearly impossible to block them all.
The men were certain of victory—
But in the next instant, that certainty vanished.
“What!?”
When the blades cut through, Claudia’s figure vanished like a mirage.
Even the deer she had been carrying disappeared with her.
Had they been deceived by a fox’s trick?
The men faltered in confusion—
And so, they failed to notice.
――――――――――
“Super Licorice-chan Striiike!!!”
A blast of light shot straight into the center of the flustered men—and then exploded.
The shockwave swept outward, though that wasn’t particularly dangerous.
What was far more overwhelming was the sound and light.
A high-pitched Kiiiiiin! rang out, assaulting the men’s hearing.
On top of that, a blinding flash seared their vision.
Unable to withstand the double assault, the men collapsed one by one.
“Fuhun! Defeat the enemy in an instant without causing unnecessary harm—this is Licorice-chan’s ultra power!”
“On!”
“Gyaa!? Why!? Why are you eating me!?”
Taking advantage of the chaos, Licorice was being eaten by Snow.
Well, it wasn’t real eating—just gentle nibbling.
That was fine, so I let it slide for now.
“Fate, let’s go.”
“Yeah. Claudia-san too.”
“Yes!”
We, who had been hiding nearby in advance, stepped forward and captured the fallen men.
“Ugh… who… who are you!?”
“Your enemies.”
“You were lured out perfectly.”
In other words, this was a “bait” operation.
Claudia-san acted as the bait, drawing them out of the village.
Then, the members of the Dawn Alliance seeking clues about the village would attack her and attempt to kidnap her.
Anticipating this, we had set a trap of our own, ready to capture the Dawn Alliance members.
It would have been dangerous if a high-ranking officer like Rena had appeared—but that was a gamble.
And we won that gamble.
Thanks to that, we were able to capture five members of the Dawn Alliance like this.
Could they have been just ordinary bandits?
No chance.
They wore the emblem of their organization.
We confirmed that before taking action.
“Well then…”
“Shall we…?”
Sofia and Claudia-san smiled sweetly.
““Let’s get them to tell us everything.””
Being caught by these two was really bad luck…
Even though they were the enemy, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy.
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