“Here we go.”
“Yeah—anytime.”
We look at each other and nod.
Then, a countdown in our heads.
Three…
Two…
One…
“—!!”
The instant we hit zero in our minds, Albert and I burst out from cover and sprint forward.
At the same time, we draw our swords and point their tips at the enemy.
“W–what!?”
“Where did these guys come from!?”
“Enemies—gah!?”
Albert is the first to leap out.
With the bare minimum of movement, he swings his blade and cuts a soldier’s leg.
The soldier staggers unsteadily—
and a follow-up kick slams into his face, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
The remaining two hurriedly raise their weapons, but it’s too late.
I slip into the first man’s guard.
At point-blank range, I smash him with the flat of my blade, sending him flying into the second.
The two collapse together in a tangled heap—
and I strike them precisely, stripping away their consciousness.
“Phew.”
Glad that worked out.
They’re enemies, sure—but they might just be siding with the lord because they have no choice.
Thinking that way, if possible, I don’t want to take their lives.
Maybe people would call that naïve…
But this is who I am.
“Let’s move inside while we can.”
“Ah—please wait a moment.”
I circle around the warehouse…
placing scrap materials in front of the doors scattered here and there, jamming them shut.
It’s to prevent escape.
I can’t stop anyone jumping out a window, but it’s better than doing nothing.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“You’re quick on your feet. I didn’t even think about preventing an escape.”
“That’s thanks to Sofia. She taught me a lot of things.”
“…I see.”
As Albert says that, his expression looks oddly dazzled.
But he quickly sharpens into a serious, focused look.
“I’ll search for the lord. I’m sorry to push the danger onto you, but can I rely on you, Fate, to deal with anyone using a magic sword?”
“Understood. I’ll do my best.”
If a Ren-class magic sword user shows up, things could get pretty bad.
Still, I don’t feel that level of pressure right now…
And even if one does appear, I’ll handle it somehow.
I can’t just leave a situation like this alone.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“One more countdown, and—”
That was when it happened.
GOGAA!!!
With a thunderous roar, the warehouse doors were blown apart.
“What was that!?”
“A magical explosion? But that didn’t feel like—”
I raise my sword, ready for anything.
Albert, too, watches beyond the doorway without lowering his guard.
Then, a foul stench drifts toward us—so bad it makes me want to vomit.
“This smell is…”
“Blood…?”
The blood of a single person wouldn’t give off such a dense, death-soaked odor.
This is the smell of dozens of people’s blood—the presence of death itself.
And then—
“Hmm. Visitors, are we?”
A man holding a jet-black sword steps into view.
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