Chapter 31: Trishel and the Assassin Group

"Hmm hmm hmmm—"

I hummed as I walked through the back alleys.

Ah, what a blissful day this is. To be able to work for that person.

And this time, I’m moving under their direct words. There could be no greater joy.

After all, from the day I was born, I have belonged to them.

"Ah, I wish they would awaken soon."

If they did, I wouldn’t have to keep imitating my filthy foster father.

Even if it’s said to be necessary to blend into the world, I don’t like what I don’t like.

No matter how necessary it may be, I can’t just accept it so easily.

At times like this, I recite these words.

"“Blue is the color that resides with white. Yes, like the boundless azure sky.”"

Words left behind by the one who created me. Words I love.

They give me a clear reason to live. They don’t let me forget my reason for existing.

They teach me just how worthless hesitation is. They unify my consciousness.

With my will once again aligned, I continued through the back alleys.

Eventually, I arrived before an old building. A rundown house. I’d heard poor folk used to live there, but now… well, probably not alive anymore.

I kicked the entrance door wide open.

Splinters flew into the air. Inside was dark, with no sign of people.

I stepped in, unguarded.

"So, won’t you disappear already? Black’s little gang?"

The moment I said it, silhouettes appeared from both sides and lunged. Something glinted. Knives.

I could see their forms, but not feel a single presence.

Hmm. Looks like they’ve got at least the minimum skill. Maybe Black’s underlings aren’t to be underestimated after all.

Not that I ever intended to let my guard down.

"Too slow."

Red sprayed through the black. The blade, gleaming white in the light spilling from the entrance, drew an arc.

It was a weapon I never used against monsters. I could feel its joy. Its brilliance grew, honored to be wielded for that person’s sake.

Thuds echoed as two bodies fell. Cloaked figures who had hidden to my left and right now lay sprawled.

"…Who are you?"

The rest of the group emerged from the shadows.

Their ability to hide form and presence was passable, at least. Coming here in person had been the right call.

"Oh, come on. Do you really need a reason for someone swatting away trash blown in by the wind?"

I teased them with mockery. Still, they showed no sign of losing composure. Well, at this level, I suppose that’s expected. It would’ve been easier if they’d flown into a rage and rushed me.

I counted their numbers just a little. One, two, three… yeah, plenty. Quite impressive they managed to gather this many.

"But really, sending out this many people? Your master must be quite the coward. What was her name again…"

Even as I chatted idly, they didn’t attack.

When I felled the two earlier, I doubt they missed my weapon. That’s why they can’t make a careless move.

So, I’ll just have my fun for a while longer.

For Black’s lackeys to set foot in this town that worships White—it’s beyond insulting.

"Rosalind, wasn’t it? Your master’s quite pathetic, huh. To get so worked up over something like this—"

The moment I spoke their master’s name, the atmosphere clearly shifted. Good. That’s the way.

"How pitiful. Or maybe just plain foolish?"

The air thickened. Their killing intent sharpened. Yes, that’s more like it.

"Well, it can’t be helped if she’s incompetent. She’s just a defective thing, starved for love."

No sooner had I said it than their collective killing intent stabbed into me.

My lips curved up. People like this never stab at the one in front of them—they stab at the master.

"What’s wrong? Compared to your master, you dogs at least know how to ‘stay’ when ordered."

At last, one couldn’t hold back and moved—only to fall in the same instant.

"One down."

Once the first moved, the rest couldn’t stop. To eliminate me, the foreign element, they all rushed in.

Their coordination was practiced. For assassins, they seemed to have training in frontal combat as well.

I moved both hands, readying my counter.

My blades flashed, leaping at their mark with precision, only to be barely deflected.

"It’s a chakram! They’re attached to cords—watch the trajectory!"

"Correct."

In that one instant, my weapon had been identified. Well, if they blocked it, they couldn’t avoid seeing.

My weapon was two chakrams, cords tied on, controlled at will. Designed for human targets.

I curled my fingers, manipulating the cords. With that alone, the chakrams danced through the air, tearing into my foes with relentless hunger.

Even when deflected, they regained momentum instantly. Blades roaming the air freely, constantly hunting them.

Any who tried to close the distance were met with cord-born threats. With a flick of my fingers, I warned: step closer and the chakram will carve you open.

Still, numbers were numbers. They crept closer. I stepped back in turn, keeping them from closing in completely.

Before the whirling wall of chakrams, they faltered. A kind of deadlock.

Behind me was the exit. From their perspective, I surely wouldn’t flee after coming this far. But they also wouldn’t want me to escape.

After all, they had no idea how I’d tracked this place down, or why their injured comrades had stopped moving. If they didn’t make me spill information, their future operations would suffer.

So, I led them outside.

I launched a chakram at one, letting it be deflected.

In that instant, I spun, slipped through the exit, and leapt outside.

At once, attackers came from both sides. Not just inside, but outside too, of course.

…No, from above as well!

I snapped the cord. First I directed it at the one above. The chakram was deflected—expected. Then I shifted the second, wrapping the cord around their torso.

With a swing, I hurled them toward the one on my right—slamming them down with gravity’s weight. Both shrieked like crushed frogs.

But in that brief gap, another assassin from the left slipped in, plunging a knife into my unguarded side—

"Too bad."

"What!?"

…but it seemed his weapon wasn’t quite strong enough to pierce the armor I wore beneath.

The knife didn’t sink in. All I felt was the dull impact of the blow.

The man froze for an instant, stunned by the unexpected reality. I made sure to turn that instant into his last.

I twisted my leg and snapped a kick into his jaw. That alone made his eyes roll back white as he crumpled.

That made five.

"Hey, hey. Is this really all you’ve got?"

By then, I was completely surrounded. They were fast at movements like this, at least.

I glanced around. The middle of a backstreet, assassins filling every direction—front, back, left, right. No other souls around. Just the faint smell of blood. No wonder the locals avoided living here.

Their faces showed more than anger now—traces of panic.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

"If you wanted to play house, you should’ve done it somewhere else. No need to step into this town for it."

"…Who are you?"

"Is that the only thing you people can say? Must be tough having such low brainpower!"

Maybe because the situation had turned more favorable, they looked a bit calmer now.

Probably thinking: since I’d drawn them outside, maybe I had reinforcements waiting. They even had the luxury to be cautious again.

Good. Now things might start getting fun.

Everyone around me raised their weapons at once. Not just knives. I could feel the air—hidden weapons too.

They must have switched tactics: kill me first, then force out information.

Yes. That’s better.

The first to strike was a man behind me.

I ducked under the slash, hearing the blade whistle over my head, along with his click of the tongue.

A sweep of my leg took his feet from under him. As his balance faltered, I rose, driving my knee into his stomach.

Before the next could come, I raised both chakrams and hurled them left and right.

This time they spun faster than before, leaving no chance to react.

Their glowing arcs carved clean lines in the air, slashing open arms, sending knives clattering to the ground.

And in the next heartbeat, bodies hit the earth.

"Poison! But—we have…"

"Resistance, right? But hey, you don’t have resistance to poisons that only exist in this town. Not you lot, who came from the north."

For example—the body fluids of certain monsters, perfect for paralysis.

Realizing the danger, a pair of them suddenly threw themselves onto my flying chakrams.

It caught me off guard.

Sacrificing themselves to strip away my weapons. In the end, a chakram is just a metal disc with a blade and a strong cord. If a grown man pinned it down with brute force, I couldn’t move it anymore.

If I held on, the cord would trap me too. So I quickly untied the cord from my wrist and discarded the weapon.

The clatter of steel hitting stone—and then, gleaming steel flashed before my eyes.

"See? Without weapons, you’re just another woman."

"…………"

"You’ll answer our questions. Who are you, and how did you discover us?"

I scanned the area. Still maybe a dozen or so left.

Hmm. Would’ve liked to cut it down a little more.

"You think I’ll answer?"

"Then you’ll die here."

"Oh, please. You were planning to kill me either way, weren’t you?"

I smiled as I spoke.

Maybe it unsettled them, how I could still look so relaxed at a time like this. I could feel tension prickling through the group.

Fewer witnesses is better, so I hadn’t wanted to use this. But against this many… I had no choice.

"Well, maybe I’ll answer—but isn’t it a little early to be so sure of your victory?"

"What—!?"

"『Freeze.』"

The spell I had prepared activated, triggered by my word.

The ground glowed faintly, lines tracing a pattern—the exact paths my chakrams had traced earlier.

A blade of white light froze in front of me, stopping just before it reached.

"Too bad. You may be first-rate assassins… but when it comes to deception, you’re third-rate."

I muttered to myself, watching as their legs and arms froze, their bodies becoming statues.

The moment they chose this town as their battlefield, their fate was sealed.

This town does not accept Black. It will never be stained by Black. The will of the town itself stands with me.

I exhaled once, confirming that everyone around me was encased in ice.

"By now, that person should be at the auction, right?"

I picked up my chakrams from the ground and tucked them away.

Leaving them would only leave evidence. They were replaceable weapons, but I still had to retrieve them.

"Ahh… I wish they would awaken soon. Then I could truly devote this body, this life, even this soul."

I longed for the day that would come. For them to always command me like today.

But if that happened, the one at their side would only get in the way. No doubt standing there today as well.

The presence of Black by their side infuriated me endlessly—but that person had accepted it. That placed it beyond my reach.

"Oh, that’s right."

I remembered something I’d forgotten to mention before leaving.

Though I doubted they could hear me. Still—just in case.

"That person is so kind, you know. Even with those they hate, they don’t wish death upon them. So, it won’t last forever. The ice will break before it kills you."

Truly kind. Though if you killed them outright, you’d never have loose ends.

What makes them so?

"Well then—take this as a lesson. Don’t ever show your faces again, okay~?"

Leaving those words behind, I turned and departed swiftly from the scene.