—How did things come to this?
My intention had been extremely simple.
I deliberately separated from Crow and the others to create an opening, using myself as bait to provoke hostile action from the traitors.
That was all I wanted to do.
“Can this be called a success…? It’s so far beyond anything I expected that I can’t decide.”
Before my confused eyes, three people—two men and a woman—pointed weapons at one another.
“Hmph. To direct a blade at the young miss is the height of insolence. You traitors don’t even understand honor and duty. Surrender quietly!”
The Family member holding a dosu as he spoke was a tall, slender man. He turned his profile toward me and flashed his white teeth…
But in truth, he was a covert knight who’d sworn loyalty to some noble house. The mana surrounding him revealed that he’d undergone strict training as a knight since childhood. He was probably strong enough that Penne, as she was now, had no chance of defeating him.
His face was handsome too, so ordinary women must have sent many inviting glances his way. But from his emotions, I could easily read his scheme: “I’ll ingratiate myself with this high-status little girl and use her to infiltrate the depths of the Cineraria Family.”
He seemed extremely confident in his appearance.
A man dressed in black pointed a knife at him.
“Stand aside. My only target is Resina Cineraria. I don’t enjoy unnecessary killing.”
This man was an assassin hired by someone.
At first glance, his mana looked plainer than the knight’s, but observing him with Mana Detection made the truth obvious. Powerful mana was hidden inside his body, and his fundamental strength was probably nearly equal to the knight’s.
On top of that, he undoubtedly possessed some hidden trump card. Something felt strange about how his mana was concealed… That wasn’t the Mana Concealment skill. He wore a magic tool with a similar effect.
And then there was the girl watching both men without expression.
“…………It looks like rain.”
She murmured that, but the sky was clear.
I couldn’t determine her meaning.
She was a famous girl within the Cineraria Family: the madwoman Kiko Blackberry.
Her weapon was a large farming scythe, an implement ordinarily unsuitable for combat.
Because of her black hair and black eyes, dark enough to draw a person in, and the sharpness with which she injured anything she touched without distinction, she was known as “Obsidian Kiko.”
She should have been three years older than me, but she was short and slender. Nevertheless, the mana surrounding her was dense and violent.
Her mana grade was Special.
In contrast to her usual languid demeanor, she performed like a raging war god on the battlefield. Without moving a single muscle in her expression, she swung her scythe and harvested enemy heads as if dancing.
That alone would have made her an excellent bodyguard, but she also harvested the heads of allies who carelessly came too close.
Killing allies would ordinarily receive severe punishment, but the achievement of beheading several important enemy figures had neatly canceled out her crimes and allowed her to survive until today.
There was only one reason the Cineraria Family employed someone so obviously untrustworthy.
She would be troublesome if she joined another organization.
That was all.
A knight, an assassin, and a madwoman.
All three belonged to the security division as “bodyguards.”
Family members specializing in violence were often sent to the front line of conflicts, so the personnel changed constantly. Spies infiltrated them frequently, and some organizations hired external mercenaries as disposable fighters. The Cineraria Family followed an old custom of employing them as official members.
“—Eek!”
Several men let out pathetic cries beneath the raging mana of those three.
There were twenty in all. Until moments ago, they’d united around the fantasy of “dragging Resina down,” but their backgrounds were completely different.
Some were backed by other candidates for the next underboss, while others served the mastermind who poisoned me… Because I’d suddenly brought Crow forward and seized the lead in the succession struggle, they’d apparently been searching for some way to pull me down.
“Now then. The three of them seem busy, so perhaps I’ll deal with you. Let me recall… What did you say during your conversation? She’s only a little girl. Her pressure isn’t as strong as the rumors. She looks weak in a fight. Surrounding her with numbers will solve everything. We can all take turns with her. Was that it?”
I loosened Mana Concealment slightly, spun the naginata Crow made for me above my head, and took my stance. Against opponents of this level, there was no need to use the spell circuits built into the magical weapon.
“I learned Mana Concealment, so I’d been suppressing my mana to avoid frightening everyone… But as the wife of the next underboss, perhaps I should always wear enough mana that no one underestimates me. The proper balance is difficult.”
Then, while holding back considerably, I began fighting them.
Because people had feared me since childhood, I had naturally searched for a way to resolve that problem. Even before Crow taught me, I’d practiced several skills.
Among them, I’d spent years training Mana Concealment with all my effort.
But the mana I was born with was simply too powerful. Concentrating enough to prevent it from leaking outside my body made it impossible to do anything else. Magic tools with similar effects broke within seconds when I used them. Even the sturdily constructed restraints made for prisoners couldn’t withstand it.
I tried everything I could imagine, and none of it worked.
I gave up completely.
—Until Crow taught me Parallel Thought.
“Crow. Why do you always save me so easily, wearing a face as though you’ve done nothing at all? Hehehe. When I spend time with you, even resigning myself to things begins to feel foolish.”
Now, I could use Parallel Thought to devote one stream of awareness to Mana Concealment while controlling my combat movements with another.
I wrapped mana around my naginata and carefully destroyed their weapons.
Even if someone possessed strange magic, I simply needed to deny them an opportunity to use it. In the middle of the melee, I prioritized eliminating anyone moving their mana suspiciously, reducing the risk of being caught off guard.
I drove the naginata’s shaft into a solar plexus and smashed mana into a spirit until it broke, taking care to leave as few injuries on their bodies as possible.
Honestly, cutting them all down at once would have been easier.
I wouldn’t feel the slightest pain at killing men who directed such vulgar lust toward me. But Crow seemed to be planning to use them for something again…
Hehehe. A wife should support her husband.
Until the situation became truly hopeless, I would follow his instructions.
“My, my. What’s wrong? You gathered so many people, yet why are you struggling against one little girl? If you’re men of the Cineraria Family, show enough spirit to land at least one blow.”
Each time I loosened Mana Concealment, the difference in our mana overwhelmed them, and more men collapsed to their knees.
Their emotions turned the familiar green.
Fear.
Like field mice thrown naked into the cage of a ferocious beast, they could only tremble in despair.
Once, I’d hated that more than anything.
—But it was all right.
Crow was with me now.
By the time the situation on my side settled, the three-way battle among the bodyguards had also ended.
“Once again… I’ve beheaded something unworthy.”
Rain fell.
Just as she’d predicted, blood scattered like rain around Obsidian Kiko.
Two severed heads, freshly harvested by her scythe, hung carelessly from her left hand. With her cheek still wet and red, she stared at me without expression.
Her mana was Special-grade, so reading the emotions she directed at me was rather difficult, but…
Oh?
“Hehehe. You’re quite an interesting child.”
“Hey… Aren’t you going to kill those men?”
“My, my. The great Obsidian Kiko is concerned about the lives of insignificant refuse?”
“…I don’t care. But—”
She raised the large scythe in a sweeping motion.
“If I kill them… will you play with me?”