Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Translator: Yonnee

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Nighttime. The shadows were dark inside the forest. Silence was the only thing that could be heard. As long as no one would say anything, then this was the best hiding spot.

Because there’s no one else here.

Mercy waved the wand she was holding. Exactly the shade of her hair, the wand had red gems studded on it.

“Hide.”

Her incantation made our bodies shine for a moment, then it was as if there was a transparent film covering us. The thin membrane wrapped over us according to the shape of our bodies, like a bubble.

“You’re covered now.”

It was just like the cloak of invisibility in H*rry Potter, and I thought for a second that the other two wouldn’t see me, but I had nothing to worry about.

“…Is the dragon here?”

“Yes. This forest is close to the palace, so it’s perfect.”

Mercy answered like that as she looked enthusiastically in response to Blanc’s question. Perhaps feeling that his life was in danger, Blanc nuzzled deeper into my arms.

This forest though. I had a feeling that it’s not just a forest.

As though she felt the shift in the looks she was getting, Mercy added.

“Whenever Rosteratu did some dirty work, this is the place where it’s done. He holds hunting parties often, regardless of whether the ones being hunted were humans or animals. Because that’s how he likes it.”

The main reason why Rosteratu liked hunting was because he relished in the feeling of superiority. Was it because it’s still widely known that he was impotent, so many people were pointing fingers at him?

He was a sick pervert who excitedly manipulated people and tortured them cruelly just to prove that he was above them.

“Even yesterday, people were hunted down so graphically.”

As much as assassins could infiltrate the palace through the forest, the security was tight here. There was a pre-established barrier here that would immediately kill anyone who’s not authorized to enter.

“He’s also eager to call servants and dancers into his villa. He’s under the impression that acting promiscuously will make his lower body function properly.”

Before doing that, so that it wouldn’t work at all, shouldn’t that part in the middle of his legs be chopped off? Mercy muttered under her breath in a harsh voice, then she looked back at me and grinned.

She had enough chops to be the head of the mages and she had a good personality to boot. I liked how she viewed Rosteratu with contempt while also being generous without being pretentious.

I kinda, really like Mercy. If we get to know each other more, I’ll be more reassured. I grabbed Mercy’s hand.

“Unnie.”[1]

If you’re cooler than me, then you’re an Unnie by default.

Hearing me call her that way, Mercy tilted her head to the side.

“…I’m your Unnie? I heard you’re older than me though.”

I asked cautiously.

“…How old are you?”

“I’m twenty.”

What, you’ve just become an adult? Back in my world, you’d just be a freshman in college, but you’re the head of the mages? Was this world inhabited by only geniuses…?

“…You look so cool to me that I just called you Unnie automatically. The way you speak kind of pierces people to the core, you know.”

At my words, Mercy widened her eyes.

“I’ve never met anyone who compliments me so openly. Haha, I think I know why His Highness likes you.”

While I chatted with Mercy in a friendly manner, I felt a stinging gaze stabbing at me from the side. I glanced sideways and saw Schubert looking at me with a mystified expression.

“…Seriously an unfathomable woman.”

“Even if you say that, Lord Schubert, I think you’re hiding something, too.”

I glanced up at him, recalling what Mercy said earlier.

“That is to say, something like maybe… Are you hiding the way you really speak…?”

“Stop.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll focus on our operation.”

Well, I wasn’t particularly curious about what Schubert was hiding. Being privy to a secret was the same as carrying a responsibility.

Schubert looked around our surroundings thoroughly. He turned his head quickly to check if there was anyone around us, then he spoke again.

“Marquis Evnen has invited Rosteratu to the villa in the middle of these woods. This will go on from today to tomorrow, and the banquet is about to—no, has already started.”

As it was sponsored by royalty, the forest was an exclusive hunting ground, and Rosteratu had a personal villa here. It was a mansion that’s smaller than the palace, but it was inconspicuous enough to avoid the eyes of other people.

Of course, it’s known outwardly as just a ‘banquet’, but the truth was a little different.

The impotent Rosteratu was feeling a bit effeminate these days. No, rather, he might be leaning more towards that side of the spectrum exactly because his thing wasn’t working.

“And, we’re going to burn that banquet to the ground.”

Mercy beamed in delight.

“I’ll look around first.”

In front of her, Schubert looked around and picked a moderately high tree, then climbed it in an instant.

The way he climbed reminded me of a squirrel. As I stared incredulously at the tree that Schubert had scaled, a sudden thought passed through my mind.

Wasn’t he more like an assassin than a knight? No, but, wasn’t Schubert an aristocrat with a peerage…? Just what the heck was his true identity?

While grappling with my thoughts, Mercy tapped me on the shoulder.

“Now then, shall we go see the dragon?”

We started walking. We even crossed paths with a few people in the middle of our trek, but they didn’t see us.

Even if they were wearing cloaks, no matter who looked at them, they were nobles who were wearing expensive clothes, smiling as they walked. Behind them, there were some people who were being dragged along in chains.

“Even trash can grow feet and walk on their own these days.”

Mercy’s tone of voice was particularly cynical.

¹ Unnie = older sister; there’s a cultural aspect to it, so I decided not to translate it directly as ‘sister’ and just left it as is. ↩