Chapter 91: Ota Rio and the Assassin Order Meeting
Narrator POV
After being in a trance for talking with the goddess, Calm came back to her senses.
She opened her eyes and took a deep breath.
Kazue noticed that Calm was back to normal and called out to Calm.
With that, the others also looked at Calm and waits for her words.
"How was it Calm-sama." <Nikko>
"How was it Calm-dono." <Matsuo>
Both Nikko and Matsuo excitedly anticipated Calm's news.
"Uh... The Goddess said that she was not the one who reincarnated you into a sword." <Calm>
Calm said while looking at Matsuo with a sorry expression on her face.
[As expected... so it was not Gaiah after all] <Kazue>
Kazue thought hearing this.
Nikko looked disappointed at hearing the news.
"Does that mean... you can't help us after all?" <Nikko>
Nikko said in a low voice and looked down.
"Oh, not necessarily, Gaiah-sama said that if you manage to keep me safe in the next 7 days then she will do something about your situation." <Calm>
"Really?! Is that true?!" <Nikko>
Calm nods confidently.
Nikko showed a big smile.
"That's what the goddess-sama said." <Calm>
"Alright! I promise to keep you safe till next week. You can count on me -de gozaru-" <Matsuo>
"Yeah!" <Nikko>
"I will look forward to that, Matsuo-san, and you too Nikko-san." <Calm>
"You can count on me!" <Nikko>
"Thank you very much." <Calm>
She said that she will answer their question after they have protected her safely.
They celebrated the fact that something could be done to Matsuo's situation.
They then proceed on having small talks once again.
Their small talks continued.
Yuma, Nikko, Matsuo, and Coco started talking to Calm casually.
They are trying to make her comfortable in their presence.
It did not take long for Calm to be comfortable being with them.
It was because she knew that she can trust every one of them with all her heart.
Plus they are in the same age range as herself.
It was easy for her to feel at ease with them.
She was happy to interact with people who were about as old as her, thus Calm has gained new friends.
Sometime later...
"Where back! Is miss Alicia back?" <Boy>
Three boys entered the mansion as we were talking casually in the guest hall.
Since the Guest area was opposite the door, we noticed the people who entered the mansion.
"Ah..." <Kazue>
The 3 boys who just entered had familiar faces.
[Right... there are those guys too.]
Upon seeing the faces of the boys, she was reminded that she can also ask these boys for help.
It was the Otaku boys, namely Tsuchiya Daisetsu, Nobira Naonobu, and Suguta Yoshiaga.
Kazue forgot that these boys existed.
These boys had been traveling with Kazue for about a month, but she ended up forgetting about them.
[Crap, I almost forgot about them. It's not because I thought you guys are useless that I forgot about you guys or something...] <Kazue>
A sense being guilty struck Kazue...
"uh... yeah... welcome... back?" <Kazue>
Feeling sorry for forgetting about these fellows, Kazue apologized to them in her mind.
[Sorry, I totally forgot about you guys...]
Kazue ended up showing them an awkward smile.
"W-w-w-what's up?" <Kazue>
The otaku boys noticed this awkward smile and were confused why Kazue made that face.
"???" <Otaku Boys>
Meanwhile...
In the forest outside Vestir, a girl suddenly sneezed for some unknown reason.
-Achoo-
"Hmnn? Did I catch a cold or something?" <Shino>
It was another person Kazue forgot about.
*************************
Rio POV
Going back in the day Rio reunited with Kazue.
After a long time traveling from the Empire of Artesia to the Kingdom of Riles.
It had been about 5 months since then.
I went to the guild with my former classmates I met earlier today, Nikko and Yuma.
I talked to the receptionist like I usually do ever since I came here to Vestir.
"Oh, miss Rio! I was looking for you! Miss Kazue has returned!" <Receptionist>
"Really?!" <Rio>
Behind me, there was Nikko, Yuma, and Coco who came with Rio after eating a meal.
Just like me, the two guys also heard a familiar name from the guild receptionist.
"Oh, Kazue? That, Mizusawa Kazue?" <Yuma>
Said Yuma with an asking voice.
I turned around to confirm and nodded happily at Nikko and Yuma.
"I told her about it and said to her that you come here every day to see if she's back." <Receptionist>
"And? What did she say? Where is she now?" <Rio>
I could not hold back my excitement.
As if matching my excitement, the receptionist was smiling excitedly too.
"Ah, She's at the library on the second floor, she said she will be reading some books to wait for you." <Receptionist>
"Really?! Thank you very much Misha-san!" <Rio>
I said toward the receptionist as I walked away to the second floor.
"No problem miss Rio, I am glad to help." <Receptionist>
Misha, the receptionist waved at me with a smile as I walked away.
Nikko and the others followed me going to the second floor.
[I will finally be reunited with Kazue. Where is she...]
I walked fast up to the second floor of the guild where the library was located.
I walked on the stairs impatiently, and excitedly.
There, the first person I saw was a girl in a long ponytail, wearing a black robe and a school uniform.
When I saw her, I was very happy.
But...
She was jumping joyously like a little girl.
"Kazue?" <Rio>
The girl, Mizusawa Kazue froze as her head turned toward my location.
The smile on her face faded and her usual cool expressionless sharp gaze returned.
I asked her,
"What are you doing?" <Rio>
"Hmnn?" <Kazue>
She acted like nothing happened and refused to answer my question.
She was trying to change the topic and completely refused to answer that question.
[I guess she was just happy about something?]
I have a special ability.
I had this ability ever since I was born.
I can read people's minds as long as they could see my eyes.
Originally, I thought that this ability only works when we look at each other eye to eye, but I was wrong.
It does not matter if he or she is looking at it directly, as long they could see my eyes I can freely choose how to read their minds the way I want.
But well, the more focused they are on my eyes, the better I could read their minds.
When reading minds, I can choose whether to "hear" or "see" what they are thinking.
When I choose to "hear" their thoughts.
I am not physically hearing the words in their mind, rather it's like a telepathic thing.
It is as if the Idea is converted into my mind in the form of sounds in my head.
"Hearing" is how I use my ability by default.
When I choose to "see" what they are thinking, I can choose to "see" it as text, or even by images, and if I concentrate strongly enough, like a movie.
I guess if I am to explain how I can "see" what other is thinking, It is as if I am hallucinating, if I do choose to "see" what others are thinking, I am unable to see what's in front of me clearly.
It's like things are being overlayed by a movie playing in front of my eyes.
Well, it's hard to explain how exactly how I "see" or "hear" what others are thinking, but since I've always had this ability, even when I was in our world I don't feel odd about how my ability works.
Also, it happens in an instant, even how long and complicated their thoughts are, the information comes into my mind in an instant.
For as long as I can remember I am reading other people's minds.
To me it's normal.
To me, it is as simple as talking to other people.
Well, as for this ability, it only works in my favor.
It's as if telling me things without your permission.
That is how I see my ability.
Well...
Only my parents are aware of this ability of mine.
Obviously, they told me not to tell others about this ability as it only causes trouble.
Thus I kept it a secret ever since I was young.
Even Kazue, my best friend does not know I have this ability.
When I came to this world, it seems that this ability of mine is classified as a "Unique Skill".
(Eyes of the Mindreader)
In this world, only Orga Les Versi, the Imperial Magician knows that I have this ability.
But, even Orga himself does not know how my ability works.
Apparently, my ability is one of a kind and no one in this world ever had this ability before.
This means no one in this world knows how my ability works.
Except for myself of course.
Thanks to that, I was able to make excuses to keep my abilities secret.
This ability of mine helped me a lot while I was living in this world.
I was able to keep myself away from dangerous people who had malicious intentions.
I could just look at them in the eyes and I will be able to see their intentions.
Unexpectedly enough this ability also works on monsters.
Tho' their thoughts are very simple.
Their thoughts revolve around simple objectives.
"Kill"
"Food"
"Run"
"Attack"
"Bite"
"Dangerous"
...
That is how simple the thought of most monsters I encounter is.
I also learned how to use my skill in battle as I can "See" or "Hear" what they are thinking.
With that advantage, I can predict what they will do in advance and do countermeasures about it.
That is how my skill, (Eyes of the Mind Reader) works.
When interacting with people, I try my best to not read their minds all the time.
I think that reading other people's minds is very unfair.
Also, it causes miss understanding and complicated feelings to others once they found out about my ability.
There are things that other people do not want others to learn about themself.
I am not the kind of person who wants to learn about other people's secrets.
Yes, I would read a person's mind when we first meet, by doing that I can see what kind of person they are.
Then, I will decide if I will pry deeper into their thoughts or just ignore them totally.
After that, if I have no problem with that person's thoughts, I try my best to not read their minds.
This is especially true for a friend like Kazue.
So... I try my best to not read her mind as an act of respect for a friend.
To do that, I use my bangs to hide my eyes and not look at theirs.
That way, I can avoid reading their thoughts.
After talking for a while.
I, together with Kazue, Yuma, Nikko, and Coco left the adventurer's guild.
Kazue invited us to come with her all of a sudden and we decided to follow her as she requested.
When we were walking...
I noticed that she was keeping something in her mind.
I did not need to use my mind-reading ability to notice this.
It seems that she's keeping something at the back of her mind.
I am curious about this but I chose not to read her mind as a sign of respect to my friend.
But, I did not have to read her mind after all.
Kazue chose to tell us what was on her mind.
We arrived at a fancy mansion.
After walking for a while we finally stopped.
We stopped in front of the mansion's gate.
Then Kazue's atmosphere changed and became really serious.
She then asked us...
"Can I trust you?" <Kazue>
I answered her positively right away.
No questions asked, If Kazue needs my help I will gladly help her.
The other guys also replied positively.
A small sign of relief came to Kazue upon hearing our answers.
After that, she invited us inside the mansion to discuss her problems.
In the mansion, Kazue confessed what she had been doing these past few days.
We discovered that Kazue was caught up in a sticky situation.
It seems that she had been protecting a high-profile individual, the saint of Riles.
I don't have much knowledge about this person, but I have heard about the name of the saint from time to time.
I am aware that this person is a very influential figure here in Riles.
As Kazue explained her circumstance, I can see that she is stressed from this.
I finally noticed dark circles under her eyes.
I had a glimpse of what was in Kazue's mind.
There were a lot of things on her mind.
I was surprised at how she was keeping herself in order with all these things in her mind.
She was trying her best to keep her composure.
She was also trying her best not to think about something.
I stopped reading her mind as I find it rude to pry further.
As a friend, I could not keep reading her mind, especially when she was having a hard time keeping her thoughts together.
[I will just let her explain it to us as she likes.]
So, instead of reading her mind, I decided to listen to Kazue and understand her position in her own words.
It is indeed much easier for me to just read her mind and know about her troubles.
But... I've vowed to not read my friend's mind as a sign of respect.
Then again...
I want to hear her troubles in her own words.
I know that Kazue was an honest person and she will eventually say what is on her mind.
I know that she trusts me and I want to return that trust in a form of respect.
Respect, meaning not reading their mind as I do see it to be rude.
And, as I expected, Kazue said her troubles.
Time passed as we listened to Kazue's problems.
Kazue explained to us the things she knows as of far.
She explained how she managed to keep the Saint safe so far.
She explained who the people aiming for the saint's life were.
"Assassin Order"
Hearing these words, I felt complicated.
It is because of some weird circumstance, I became a member of this Order.
It was when I was traveling to Riles following Kazue.
I was involved in some incident in a city and ended up getting recruited into the order as a result.
Then I was reminded.
There was a meeting between the members of the Assassin Order that happened near here a few days ago.
I realized by then that the person that the Assassin Order was targetting was the same person Kazue was protecting right now.
[Should I tell her about that fact?]
"Actually, my father is ---" <Coco>
Coco was explaining that her father might be able to help us.
This only made Kazue twist her face even more.
I could tell that she was thinking about a lot of things.
She was mumbling to herself and was deep in thought.
She was looking down and was thinking very hard.
Since she was not looking at me right now, I could not read her mind even if I wanted to.
But there was no need for me to do that.
I can tell just by looking at her.
[Kazue is really troubled right now... I guess it's not the time for me to tell you about my connections with the "Assassin Order" at the moment. No, I should... ]
I saw Kazue's face again.
She was really exhausted.
I resisted saying that I was a member of the order.
[What if Kazue misunderstands me? What if she thinks that I was working with the Assassin Order? No, no, she will definitely believe me, yes definitely Kazue will...]
I knew well that Kazue will understand my situation if I explain myself well.
but...
Not right now.
[If I tell Kazue about me being a member of the Assassin Order. It will definitely complicate things in Kazue's mind...]
I thought of the right thing to do.
Kazue's mind must be full after hearing about Coco's father.
I just chose not to tell her yet.
[I will tell it later, once she calms down a little bit more.]
"Rio how about you?" <Kazue>
"!!!" <Rio>
I did not notice that Kazue was calling for me.
I was deep in my own thoughts.
"Huh?! Oh... what?" <Rio>
I replied in a panic.
[Crap I was too focused on thinking how to explain to Kazue about my connections with the Assassin Order. I did not hear her question at all.]
"Huh?! Oh... what?" <Rio>
"??" <Kazue>
"What's the problem?" <Kazue>
"Oh... it's nothing, what did you say again Kazue?" <Rio>
"Ah, no I was just asking what you think we should do from here." <Kazue>
"Oh... that... I don't know." <Rio>
"Hmnn... You're acting really weird... is everything alright?" <Kazue>
[Ahaha, she thinks I am acting weird... well that's not a surprise.]
"No, this is nothing I was just shocked after hearing what you're up to. Ah... Right! I think It is a good idea to have Coco's father help us." <Rio>
"Hmnn... As expected... you think so too. I guess we should do that..." <Kazue>
Just to be sure, I looked at Coco's thoughts.
[Please believe me Kazue-san my father can definitely help] <Coco>
Coco was being sincere in helping Kazue.
Kazue looked at me as if asking if she should just trust Coco or not.
Since I saw that Coco was sincere to help Kazue.
I don't see why Kazue should not accept her help, I nodded my head enthusiastically to urge Kazue to accept.
Thankfully Kazue just ignored me acting this way.
Instead, Kazue returned to deep thoughts.
She was more focused on the things on her mind than me acting weirdly.
-sigh-
Not long after, we were able to meet with Calm Eastertale, the saint of Riles.
Kazue introduced the saint to us.
As Kazue was explaining to Calm that we are her friends.
A lovely smile appeared on Calm's face.
It was a warm smile, a smile of appreciation and gratefulness.
At the same time, there was a bit of pain behind that smile.
Rio decided to look into Calm's eyes.
She reads the saint's mind.
[It seems that Kazue's expression has calmed down a lot. It's probably because of these people. She must have felt relieved after seeing these people. Alright, I decided to trust these people too! I don't want to add more stress to Kazue, I will do my best to cooperate with their plans.]
I also saw A flash of imagery flash in Calm's mind.
It was the image of her witnessing how Kazue killed an assassin.
Reading the saint's thoughts.
[Kazue...]
I realized that Kazue had been under a lot of stress recently.
If I reveal my connection to the Order right now, it will only make her more stressed.
Yeah, it's not yet the time for me to tell Kazue about this, for now, I will do my best to help her.
But I still think that I should tell her about this later on.
I just need a better time to tell this to her.
That is how I managed to reunite with my friend after a long time.
But, because of the things happening, I don't think I could have time alone with Kazue and talk about meaningless things.
I guess... It can wait till all of this is over, for now, I will just do my best to help Kazue to the best of my ability
That night we decided to rest at the Azurearozi's mansion.
Tomorrow, we will be going out to gather info that could help us protect the saint.
The next day.
I woke up because of something ringing inside my dimensional bag.
"???" <Rio>
I wonder what it was and took the item that was causing this ringing sound.
It was the black card given to me when I became a member of the Assassin order that was acting up.
"This is..." <Rio>
Just like a few days ago, an arrow pointing toward a certain direction is blinking on the card.
But, compared to how it was when this happened a few days ago, this seemed to be an emergency.
I thought for a while.
I decided to go to that meeting.
I am sure that I can gather information about the Assassin's Order if I go there right now.
"It seems that this is an emergency... meaning the information I can gather there will be very useful for us."
With this, I can help Kazue a lot.
Later...
We all gathered in the guest room from yesterday.
We are all ready to go out and gather information in the city.
Tomorrow, Coco will be meeting her father and after that things will be a lot easier for us.
[Alright! I will gather useful information for Kazue. Then I will tell my involvement with the Assassin's Order too. It's time to spy on our enemies.]
"Alright, shall we all go?" <Yuma>
"Everyone, let's do our best." <Nikko>
We all nodded in agreement.
"Ouuuu!!!!" <All>
Yoshiaga, Naonobu, and Daisetsu the otaku boys who came up late yesterday were going to help Kazue's familiar to guard the saint in the mansion.
Coco and Yuma will try to contact Coco's father and if they fail, they will return to the mansion to help protect the saint.
Nikko and Matsuo will be walking around the city to try to find information about the saint going around there.
Kazue will visit the Church and the adventurer's guild to see what is up in there.
Then we all left to do our job.
[Alright I will do my best!]
I went out to see what is up with the Assassin's Order.
I intended to use my mind-reading ability to its fullest today and went to the meeting place.
It took me about 2 hours to arrive at the promised location following the black card to lead my way.
I arrived and the location was not far from where we had all gathered a few days ago.
The number of members who came today was clearly less than the number who came a few days ago.
The atmosphere and the tension of the meeting were much more serious today too.
The top members of the order had a certain aura of animosity around them.
The members who came looked for a place to rest while waiting for the meeting to start.
While waiting I noticed a group of people standing out light a sore thumb amongst the people gathered here.
There was a group of men wearing white clothes gathered in one place.
Their clothes were reminiscent of how priest dresses up in our world.
They standing-out since the members of the Assassin's order were all dressed up in their black robes.
There was no need to say that the members of the order who came were weary of those guys.
Clearly, they were not members of the order.
As a result, they are the center of attention.
"Attention everyone!"
A voice called for the attention of the attendees.
I looked at the source of the voice and saw the top members of the Assassins Order there.
I remember the name of the acting leader of this operation.
[If I remember right, that person over there is... Razor.]
To get the attention of the members who came, Razor released an aura that made everyone look at him.
"What is this..." <Rio>
I suddenly felt chills all over my body.
It was the first time I felt this through my body.
I felt intimidated by the Aura Razor was emitting.
A person who can produce such intense pressure must be someone who could kill me without effort.
I knew that the gap of power between him and me was too great to overcome as I am right now.
Even if, I, Kazue, and our classmates team up to fight Razor, we would still lose without a doubt.
Cold sweats came out of my body.
[So these are the people who are looking for the saint. Yeah, we should never let them near the saint, or else the saint will really die at their hand...]
"Let us start the meeting." <Razor>
The surrounding became serious from just the word of the acting leader of the Assassin Order.
From just the tone of his world, everyone knew that he was going to talk about serious things.
********************
Author Note:
I was going to post this chapter earlier, but I was unable to edit it until today.
- Another side note -
I actually forgot about the Otaku boys and Shino when I was writing the few previous chapters.
I was reminded of them when I saw their names in my OLD note from a year ago.
[Ah... right there are these guys...]
Hahaha~ As expected, having a hiatus for a year is really bad.
I just caught up with all of the chapters I made in advance.
inanashi out.