NOVEL NEXT Chapter 77: Conflict in Riles and the Assassin Order
Kazue POV
-sigh-
Kazue sighs.
I've been sighing a lot for a while now.
As for the reason, it is because I've been stressed lately.
Recently, I met a girl in the middle of nowhere.
Later I ended up partying with the girl as she was a great supporter.
Her healing and buff skills were such a great help.
After gaining the trust of this girl who lied about her name being "Carise", I soon discovered that she was the Saint of Riles.
The person whom I was looking for.
The reason why I am in Riles at the moment.
At first, I thought it was a stroke of luck on my part as I would not have to look for her anymore.
But I should have known that if I was to involve myself with her in the first place I would end up triggering some kind of a "flag".
And the reason I am sighing right now is that I ended up triggering the "THAT" flag.
I closed my eyes and imagined opening the "Message" icon displayed inside my mind.
I tried to open it again hoping that what I understood before was wrong.
I was hoping the contents of it would change.
After many attempts at doing this, reality strikes.
[Should I just give up and accept this as is?]
To be honest I did not want to do the content of this "Task" given to me by the God who calls itself "Themis".
By doing this task I will be closer to becoming the Oracle of the God of Judgement.
I thought...
[Why should I do this? What is it to me? It's not as if I wanted to become an Oracle. To be honest I'm beginning to think that being one would be a little bothersome.]
That is what I thought at the moment.
That being said, by not protecting the Saint, she might end up dead.
If she ends up dying...
Would it not be my fault?
Probably not, but it will leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
Knowing that I was asked by a god to protect a helpless girl who has done nothing wrong.
If I were to leave her by herself now, I would regret it later.
Calm Eastertale seemed to be a pure, innocent, and kind person.
If she ended up dying because I did not try to protect her, I know and I am certain that my conscience would not let me sleep for a long time.
I may not be a good person but I am not the type of person who would just ignore a helpless girl die after asking for my help.
I ended up deciding to just protect her.
I could only pray that things would not turn ugly later on.
As of the moment, I and Calm are on a break.
After deciding that I would protect her for now, I asked about her current circumstance all night last night.
To summarize what I learned after listening to her I came to judge that she's being targeted by a faction that wants her dead.
To Calm's knowledge, the only people who wanted her dead is the Empire of Ecclesia.
Knowing this only made me more depressed.
Why? Because the gods are telling me to protect Calm from an Empire.
[I'm just a D-rank Adventurer you know? At best I am just as strong as a C-rank Adventurer. It's safe to assume that in such a large empire people who are as strong as B or A-rank are among them right? How do you expect me to fight against an A-rank adventurer huh?]
It was obvious that with me alone it will be impossible to protect her.
Thus I asked Calm.
"Hey, Calm... is there anybody you know that we could trust to help me protect you?" <Kazue>
"Hmmm... Sorry but I only know one person that I can trust..." <Calm>
"Only one huh... well that's better than nothing... Who is it?" <Kazue>
"...Aaron." <Calm>
"Aaron...-san is it?" <Kazue>
Calm nods and for some reason, she blushed.
"..." <Calm>
[...Hmmnn...]
I looked at Calm intently observing her closely.
"who's he?" <Kazue>
I asked.
"He's my... Knight..." <Calm>
She answered shyly.
She was unsure how to answer my question.
She seemed to have thought who this person was to her.
"Hmnnn~" <Kazue>
This time I replied with a teasing hum with a smug look on my face.
"W-what?" <Calm>
"Nothing..." <Kazue>
She pouts but she continued explaining who this Aaron person was.
Aaron Van Zelle
A knight who came from the Artesia Empire under the direct order of the Emperor himself.
As a young promising knight, he was tasked to guard the Saint.
Despite his inexperience, his talent is nothing to scoff at.
He proved himself to be capable enough and became the leader of the guards who protect the saint, the captain of the "Holy Knights"
He was the person who gave Calm the item that allowed her to escape from the assassin.
If not for the "Angel Wings" he gave Calm, Calm would have ended up dead.
"I see, from the way you trust him he seemed to be very trustworthy, he will be of help to us." <Kazue>
"Hmmph, I assure you he is, I know that Kazue-san is strong but HE'S STRONGER THAN YOU BY A LONG SHOT." <Calm>
She said in confidence.
"You love this guy don't you." <Kazue>
"Well, of Cou-!!! W-w-wait? W-w-what?! NO!" <Calm>
"Ehe~~~ you suck at lying..." <Kazue>
"I am not!" <Calm>
I only giggled teasingly at Calm without saying a word.
She was so cute, her cheeks were all red and the way she reacts was too innocent that only adds to her charm.
Somehow it reminded me of Chiho when we were young.
She was like that during our first year when she fell for that guy.
[Come to think of it these two have a lot in common. They are both extremely beautiful, they are both earnests toward the person they like and they are both "Saints"... hehe...]
I found their parallels comical.
"For now we need to find a safer place to camp. Since people are looking for you, I think that hiding in a town is not good. Since you seemed to be useless in battle, they must be thinking that you need to find a safe place with no monster for you to stay safe. For now, we must avoid making contact with anyone especially now that we don't even know who's after you." <Kazue>
"Right." <Calm>
"Now, What I'm thinking is that... " <Kazue>
I lifted a finger enumerating what I should do with each finger I raise.
"I will be going back to the city to buy you some clothes. Your outfit will make you stand out." <Kazue>
"Ahuh... I guess you're right." <Calm>
I lifted another finger.
"As such tomorrow, I will be leaving you here with Isamu, Kaori, and Hayate. I will ask them to protect you at all costs." <Kazue>
And another finger.
"I need to go back to Vestir to gather information" <Kazue>
Another finger.
"I need to contact Aaron-san in person and in secret." <Kazue>
Another finger.
"Also, I would need to meet that person and ask for help." <Kazue>
And at last, I ended up lifting 6 fingers using my all in all.
"I trust you miss Kazue... I'll leave it to you for now." <Calm>
During my little monologue, Calm was only looking at me with blank eyes.
She listed to all of it and could not say a word.
She seems to leave everything to my care.
I bet she's still confused about all the things happening to her.
I guess it's all up to me to protect her for now.
Deciding what to do I nod to myself.
.
.
.
The next day.
I left Calm with my familiars.
I left early in the morning and ran as fast as I could to Vestir.
I ignored all monsters and ran straight to Vestir without stopping.
By afternoon I managed to arrive in see the city of Vestir.
As expected I was a bit exhausted from all the running.
[Oh, if one sees me in such a rush they might suspect me of something. This might be a little bit too cautious but I need to be safe.]
I ended up walking from there on and relaxed as I walk.
[I hope no one would find it suspicious that I am not with my familiars right now. Ah... this is bad... I'm overthinking things. I might end up acting strange and end up being more suspicious that way... I need to relax. Act normal... Act as if nothing is wrong. Alright!]
I pumped myself up.
When I was near the city I saw a lot of carriages going to Vestir.
"Hmnn?" <Kazue>
I went straight toward the entrance of the gate.
As adventurers, we can enter and exit the city without getting through the lines.
Since it would be bothersome for an adventurer to line up every time they are given a gate pass once they take a quest in the guild.
Each adventurer will be given one pass before they leave the city.
I too received one before I left.
When I was about to enter the gate, I asked the gatekeeper.
"Hey guard-san, There's a lot more carriage coming in compared to the time I arrived here 5 days ago. I wonder why?" <Kazue>
I asked the guard as I handed him the pass given by the guild.
"That is because tomorrow there will be a meeting that will be attended by the nobles and leader of Riles to discuss a lot of matters happening in the country... You know... about that..." <Guard-san>
"... the war..." <Kazue>
The guard nods to confirm my answer.
"Yes, Well to be honest the is a lot longer than usual. I heard that lots of nobles coming from all around the world are going to be joining this meeting." <Guard-san>
"I see..." <Kazue>
[So that means entering the city would be a little bit difficult since they must be checking the identity of the people entering thoroughly...]
"I'm glad I don't have to line up there..." <Kazue>
"Well, the adventurers demanded that they should have a special pass to enter the city as they found it troublesome to enter the city during this time of the year." <Guard-san>
[Wait... then I can use this... now... ]
"I'm just here to buy a potion for my party member. I will leave immediately after buying one." <Kazue>
"Ah is that so?" <Guard-san>
"Yeah, we kinda ran out of potion and she ended up unable to walk after injuring her leg." <Kazue>
"Ah... that sounds bad. Wait does that mean you left her alone in the forest?" <Guard-san>
"No, I have familiars to look over her. I am sure that my familiars could protect her while I'm gone." <Kazue>
"Ah... I'm glad to hear that." <Guard-san>
I said casually to the guard.
I tried to leave an impression on the guard.
This way, if I was to enter the city using this gate later on with Calm, he won't be suspicious of the fact that I came back with a new companion by my side.
Also, this line seemed to be a little more relaxed, if we are to enter the city we just have to casually pass through here.
"Now... I only need to look for that person..." <Kazue>
*****************************
Narrator POV
Outskirts of Vestir
A group of men was gathered.
They all gathered here today to discuss the result of their recent mission.
All of the people gathered here are wearing black robes over their bodies to hide their identities.
The robe acts as their uniform as all of them were wearing the same kind of robe with the same design except one, who is wearing a bit more extravagant-looking black robe.
This group of people calls themselves the "Assassin Order"
In an area where the only things you could find are a collection of broken things such as old broken carriages, furniture, broken kitchen wares, broken weapons, old and tattered clothes, and all kind of useless things.
It was a dumpsite of useless dry goods.
Aside from the scavengers and the people who dump things in this place, there is no reason for one to go to this place.
The area seemed to be very discreet.
At the moment, the "Assassin Order" members use this place as a temporary meeting place.
The Assassin order.
A group of people who specialized in assassinations.
They consider themselves a mercenary group that takes on assassination missions.
They either act in groups or individually.
It was a group that has no definite leader or supreme superior.
Each member of this order is free to act on their own.
Despite having no hierarchy among the members of the group, they do respect each other's abilities.
Despite working in a group, most of the members don't even know who the other members are.
Naturally, the stronger members of the order can be considered "leaders".
They would appoint leaders when they seemed it would be necessary during an assassination mission composed of a group.
Just like this time...
The members of these groups have different reasons why they joined this group.
Some of the members are people who lack money and took on this kind of shady job to survive.
Some of the members are people who want fame as they want to be remembered as the assassin who killed a "high profile" individual.
Some of the members purely want to see blood getting spilled by their own hands.
Some of them just wanted "battle" and the thrill of fighting and killing their targets.
Some have twisted views and wanted to "clean" society by killing individuals whom they view as "trash" of society and dispose of them.
And some just so happened to end up becoming a member due to some weird circumstance.
Some time ago, the "Assassin Order" was requested to assassinate the "Saint of Riles".
The members who accepted the job were either up for the insane amount of "Commission" and the other just wanted a shot to be the one who Assassinated the Saint.
It is common for the members of the order to accept assassination jobs to kill "High Profile" targets but the saint is the most eye-catching target in recent history.
Lots of the members of the Assassin order joined the job to Assassinate the saint.
Their Anonymous client gave pieces of information that would help them assassinate the saint.
The purpose of this mission was obvious.
It was to escalate the turmoils that are currently disturbing the country.
If they manage to Assassinate the Saint, there is no doubt that a war would start between the people of the continent and the Empire of Ecclesia.
An opportunity came.
The assassins knew that the saint was leaving the city to visit her home and see her mother after a long time.
This information was only known amongst a few.
Only the high-ranking member of the "Church of Life", "Holy Knights", and the Guild Master of the Adventurer's guild knows about this fact.
The visit of the saint to her home was a secret amongst those people.
The day came.
Due to the leaked information about this particular visit, the "Assassin Order" commenced the assassination of the saint.
They waited from the shadows for the Saint to pass by a certain point in the road.
She was with several guards who are protecting her.
Amongst the guards, there are members of the Assassins' Order and traitors planted by the people who wanted to kill the saint.
Their forces were mixed into their rank and were traveling with her to ensure the success of their mission.
Their plan was perfect, there was no way the saint could escape, even if they knew that they were up against the "Holy Knights".
The "Holy Knights" are the saint's guards.
They are strong hand-picked individuals who are tasked to protect the saint.
With the Holy Knights' presence, the Assassin Order members knew that this mission would not be easy either.
They are certain that some of them would have to be sacrificed to finish the job.
If they manage to Assassinate the Saint, they will be paid an insane amount of money that would be enough for them to live lavishly for all of their lives.
They will also have the honor and the bragging right to call themselves the assassins who killed the Saint of Riles.
Their names will be carved in history.
These reasons were enough to put their lives on the line.
The battle started.
There were a total of 43 Assassin Order members who was participating in this mission.
They outnumber their target's guards 3 to 1.
Despite the difference in numbers, the "Holy Knights" were no easy opponent.
In terms of fighting ability, they are on par with at least a B-rank Adventurer.
On the other hand members of the "Assassin Order" are on the level of C-rank adventurers and the strongest amongst them is on par with A-rank adventurers.
But, amongst the guards of the saint, a powerful individual who is stronger than any of the members of the Assassin Order present today is by the side of the saint and would protect her with his life.
This person is Aaron Van Zelle, the strongest holy knight and one of the most powerful individuals all over the land.
If they want to kill the saint they must face this person.
But... thanks to the traitors amongst the guards mixed with the saint's guards.
The assassins overwhelmed them.
No one could trust one another.
This only made it harder for those holy knights protecting the saint to do their job.
It was only a matter of time till they penetrate the defenses of the holy knights.
Even with Aaron Van Zelle, the Holy Knights could not stop the assassin's advance.
When the assassin was certain of their victory, Aaron Van Zelle screamed toward the saint who was inside a crumbling barrier.
"CALM USE IT NOW!" <Aaron>
The leader of the Assassin Order in charge saw the saint bring out a familiar-looking Item.
As one of the most experienced members of the Assassin Order, he knew what this item was.
"Angel Wings" <AO Leader>
He muttered the name of the item.
When he saw that item, he knew that this mission was going to fail.
Angel Wings.
Despite its inconvenient effect of teleporting the user to a Random place, it has no other flaw.
Many Assassination attempts have already failed because of this particular item.
It was one of the worst scenarios an assassin would wish for when they target a person.
A lot of assassination missions had failed because of this item.
It was a rare Item that only a handful of people had.
It would take a miracle for one to have this item in such a time.
Unfortunately, that time for a miracle is going to have to happen today.
The "Assassin Order" could not do anything about it.
This only made the leader of this mission think.
How did the saint have an "Angel Wing"?
To the eyes of the Assassin Order's acting leader, such timing for the saint to be carrying such a convenient item was too convenient.
Also, he could not shake the feeling that Aaron Van Zelle, seems to be expecting such an attempt to happen from the very start.
The proof of this is that he yelled toward the saint to use the item himself.
This means that Aaron Van Zelle was the reason the saint holds such an item so she could escape.
This only led to one conclusion, Aaron Van Zelle knew that the saint was being targeted.
.
.
.
Back in the dumpsite.
The group was discussing the result of the recent failure.
"There's no doubt, Aaron Van Zelle knew that the order was targeting the saint. At the very least, he knew that the saint's life is being targeted." <AO Leader>
The members of the order agreed.
There was no other explanation for why their plan failed.
Even if they thoroughly prepared for this.
They were not expecting such development to happen at this time.
In the first place, there was no countermeasure to deal with the "Angel Wing" to begin with.
If the target has this item, they should just accept that the assassination attempt would fail.
They could only pray that their target would be transported to a place
where they would be the ones who would find them first.
"Luckily, it seems that the whereabouts of the saint are still unknown." <AO Member 1>
One member exclaimed.
"We are keeping an eye on the movement of the Holy Knights and it seems that they still haven't found the saint." <AO Assistant>
There was a ray of light for the members of the Assassin Order.
Since the saint was teleported randomly, no one knows where she was.
This means that they still have a chance to finish the job.
If they could only find the saint before the Holy Knights, the adventurer's guild or the City guard found her they could still finish the job.
"We must find the saint first." <AO Leader>
"We've lost a lot of members during that attempt." <AO Leader>
"I understand... if we want to have a higher chance to find the saint first we need more people." <AO Assistant>
Said one of the members of the Order toward the acting leader.
One of the members amongst the people gathered in the place raised their arm.
"I shall send a message to our network, requesting backup." <AO Member 2>
"Please do so." <AO Assistant>
Said the right-hand man of this mission's acting leader toward that particular member.
This member who suggested asking for backup brought out a card.
This card was about as big as the status card and/or the guild card.
But compared to both of those cards, this one was different.
It was a pure black card.
He pulled something out of his robe.
It was a quill pen, he used it to write on the black card
"Requesting back-up, all members nearby Vestir. Meeting in 2 days."
This is a short but meaningful message.
This message was sent to each of the members of the Assassin Order.
Meanwhile
On the road leading toward Vestir.
A girl wearing assassin-inspired clothing took out a black card from her dimensional bag.
On that card, the message; "Requesting back-up, all members nearby Vestir. Meeting in 2 days." was written.
The girl looking at the card made a curious look.
"Meeting in 2 days? how the hell will I know where the meeting would be?" <Girl>
A few moments later, the text written on the black card disappeared and a red dot appeared on the card.
The dot transformed into a red arrow pointing in a certain direction.
"Oh... that's how..." <Girl>
She then realized that the card would be pointing her toward the meeting place.
"What should I do..." <Girl>
She pondered, she was unsure if she would go and respond to the call.
"Hmnn... I'll think about it later." <Girl>
She placed the card back into her dimension bag.
"I would have to look around the city first before I check that out. I need to check if Kazue is there." <Girl>
Said the girl.
For the past few months, this girl had been tracking Mizusawa Kazue.
She wanted to meet her, you can even say that she misses her friend.
She looked ahead from afar, she saw that the city of Vestir was within sight.
"Oh, seems that I'm close."
Upon seeing the city she hastens her step.
Mysteriously enough her steps were light and barely made noise despite her fast strides.
Ota Rio moved forward hoping that she can meet Kazue within the city.