Alright, some good things happened this past month, so I wanted to do something special.
Today its four chapters, 1 of The Villainous Noble Daughter, and 3 of High Spec Village. If you already read the first part of Iris chapter 2, I invite you to check it out again, it’s been updated with the rest of the chapter.
Also, don’t thank me, thank my patreons who are making this possible. Also, expect faster updates soon.
Episode 39: AssassinsIn a back alley in Orn, Yamato was surrounded by a black-dressed armed group.
Who are they…?
Just as he was wondering that, his opponents took action.
One of them separated from the group, approaching Yamato.
The other several men, seemingly not caring about Yamato, invaded the mansion’s courtyards, one after the other.
Judging from their movements, Yamato was aware that this armed group had received some special training.
So, their target isn’t me… but probably the owner of this mansion…
Those were his immediate thoughts.
He had come together with that self-called debauchee Lacq to this mansion.
But he went ahead inside saying that he had to inform the ‘master of the mansion’ first.
That meant the lord of this mansion was the enemies’ target.
So, to them, I’m just an eyewitness…
One of their goals was to erase any potential witnesses who might see them in the alley. And seeing Yamato’s merchant-like getup, they decided he was an opponent easy enough for just one of them to clean up.
“Who are you? “
“……”
Questioning the person in black walking towards him, he received no answer. The face was hidden behind a cloth, making it hard to read that person’s expression.
Then, pointing the knife that had its edge covered in some kind of dark liquid towards Yamato, he attacked without saying a word. (It's probably some kind of poison, Yamato assumed.
There was no hesitation in the attacker’s movements, and attacked Yamato using the poison-covered blade edge.
There were no wasteful movements, so it seemed like the other party was indeed a skilled assassin.
“Still… too slow.”
“…………..”
As they crossed each other, Yamato slashed at the opponent’s neck.
He was currently only equipped with a single self-defense knife. However, for him who had improved physical abilities, that was more than enough to deal with an opponent of this skill level.
As expected, there’s nothing…
After rummaging through the body of the defeated enemy, he couldn't find a single item that would give some clue as to who this person was.
He also removed the cloth in order to check the face, but it was an unknown person to him. It was easy to guess that this group were professional assassins, and intruded into the mansion with a clear objective in mind.
I can still feel the bloodlust from those guys… are they still going at it…?
The black dressed group had already invaded the mansion. So, he could just overlook this incident and leave the place.
But in that case, that freeloader Lacq would surely be caught in the mess. He would become a casualty of this mysterious assassins' group.
Such a troublesome thing to occur at this time…
His proper weapons were hidden beneath the double floor of the wagon back at the bazaar.
And right now, the only weapon he had at hand was the self-defense knife. It was a good knife, but it wasn’t enough to fight against such a force.
“Damn, I guess there’s no other choice.”
He couldn't just walk away.
He decided to intrude into the old mansion to save Lacq, all the while cursing inside.
◇
He crossed the wall, going into the old mansion.
“The second one…”
‘Erasing’ the black guard watching over the entrance, he counted.
With this, the remaining number of enemies was nine. Of course, his voice was but a murmur, so that others could not hear him.
All things considered, there was less resistance than I expected…
He described his opinion while gazing at the knife stuck on the second enemy in black.
At first sight, he considered them quite tempered.
However, after he actually confronted and defeated them, he felt slightly disappointed. He overwhelmed the, without ever leaving time for them to utter a single word.
If their all like this… they’re at the same level as the kids from Urd and the Han clan…
He wasn't speaking relatively, this was his honest opinion.
A little after he arrived in the village of Urd, starting the autumn of last year, he began teaching the children ‘hunting’ and ‘self-defense arts’.
Those arts were the fighting techniques that were drilled into him by his self-proclaimed adventurer parents. He taught them to everyone in the village.
And comparing these assassins fighting skills with that of the children, he couldn't help but to think of the kids as geniuses.
Are the physical abilities of the people of Urd higher…? And the Han children too…
Urdians were peaceful people who now lived quietly in the frontier.
However, according to the village chief’ story, in older times, the people of Urd were warmongers who excelled in martial skills.
Maybe by placing themselves in dangerous situations and training, their instincts are awakening little by little.
The Han clan, now simply a minority, were the descendants of the Grassland’s King. They too, probably had a similar story.
Still, I can’t let my guard down…
He decided he wouldn't go easy on his opponents.
◇
After that, he continued advancing through the old house.
“Three…”
“Four…”
The same way as before, he took down all the lookouts he encountered.
He felt no guilt about his killing spree.
From the time he decided to live in this world and help the village of Urd, he had already made up his mind. ‘Those who unsheathed a blade were prepared to kill or be killed’.
Totally different than Japan, which could be considered a peaceful country. This was an unforgiving world which would get oneself killed for a moment of hesitation.
Yet, he felt fortunate that no sense of guilt had taken over him so far, even after the lives he had taken.
Maybe this too is an effect of my body and senses strengthening, he thought. He concluded that maybe his spirit was also strengthened, increasing his mental tolerance.
Huh… so in the room ahead…?
He moved forward, going through the worn-out mansion.
Further ahead, voices of people fighting could be heard.
One of them was a frivolous and familiar voice. Most likely it belonged to Lacq.
Yamato found himself with no time to hesitate.
So, while kicking the heavy wooden door, he came in rushing into the room.
“Yamato-danna! “
Lacq shouted at the sudden appearance that invaded the room.
His voice was as frivolous as ever, but a strange tint dyed it, making it slightly different. However, with this, Yamato could at least confirm his safety.
“Danna, It’s dangerous in here! “
Along with Lacq’s warning, four shadows came down attacking Yamato from the corners of the room.
Four people, huh…?
Four assassins with blades painted in a black liquid charged at Yamato without making a sound.
Their movements were visible faster than the opponents he had defeated so far, so these were probably the elite force in the group.
As soon as they saw Yamato entering the room, they never hesitated and came attacking him with the poisoned blades in hand. The four of them assaulted him, showing excellent cooperation.
“Haa! “
With a yell to encourage himself, Yamato intercepted the assassins.
Using the knife on his right hand, as well as his other free hand and feet, he killed his opponents.
“Im-impossible… we had the advantage…”
The single assassin that was still alive let out his voice for the first time.
He was astonished to see Yamato defeat four people at the same time with a single knife and movements that he was not able to perceive.
“Tsk…”
Judging that the newly arrived person was someone he couldn't defeat.
The surviving assassin clicked his tongue and decided to run away.
His escape route was going through the windows that faced the outside of the mansion. It was a quick decision, executed in a splendid manner.
“Danna, you’re a life saver! “
“Oh. Are you okay? “
“Yeah! “
Lacq rushed towards Yamato to express his thanks. He didn't show any injury and appeared to be safe.
It appeared that Yamato had stormed the room just shortly after the assassins showed up.
So, his decision to hurry up payed off.
“Who are these guys? “
“Not sure… but maybe their goal was this person’s life…”
As he said so, Lacq moved his gaze over to the other person that was in the room.
Maybe the master of the mansion, and the person Lacq wanted to introduce me to, Yamato thought.
That reasoning was easily inferred by the expensive clothing the other party was wearing.
“Care to explain, Lacq?”
Although he was just caught up by chance, it was unquestionable that Yamato’s life was also targeted.
So, he felt the need to know the situation in more depth in case something came up in the future.
“Yeah, Danna. Actually, this person is…”
“Lacq-san, I’ll do the explaining from here on…”
The master’s words blocked Lacq’s explanation.
That voice was quiet and gentle, but also dignified.
“My name is Isis. In the Viceroy of Orn stead… I’m acting as the regent.”
The beautiful girl introduced herself as Isis.
Then, Yamato proceeded to ask directly to the acting regent of the city of Orn, about the circumstances that lead to her being targeted for murder.
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