Chapter 59: Ressal Showdown - Prologue

Around the time Lev-chan returned and her identity was being confirmed.

“Oh, it’s sweet. Surprisingly tasty.”

“She just ate it without hesitation… this woman.”

Ilyu had unwrapped the villain clan’s steamed buns and was happily devouring them.

She didn’t hesitate at all. That carelessness must be the reason she got captured by the villain clan in the first place.

“…I specialize in treating external injuries, you know. I don’t deal with poison or anything.”

“Right? I mean, obviously those buns are poisoned.”

“Would big bro really go that far…? But, yeah, it’s not impossible…”

Ignoring everyone’s concern, Ilyu continued eating the bun with delight. At the very least, it didn’t seem to contain any fast-acting poison.

Still, it was entirely possible the buns contained some kind of slow-acting poison.

So, nobody else even made a move to touch the villain clan’s steamed buns.

“Huh? You’re all not eating? Then I’ll just have them all for myself.”

“I mean, I’m the one who brought them back, but… Ilyu, are you okay? You feel weird or anything?”

“Kyaaa! Lev-san’s worried about me! So cute!!”

“…Ugh, she’s so annoying.”

With crumbs on her mouth and her nose flaring, Ilyu flung herself onto Lev.

She was completely out of control.

“Don’t worry, look, they’re just regular steamed buns.”

“…Then go ahead and eat them all.”

“Yup, I was gonna anyway! Munch munch… Ugh!?”

Then, the moment Ilyu bit into one of the buns.

She suddenly clutched her mouth and started writhing in pain.

“…What’s wrong, Ilyu? You okay?”

“Chili… It’s packed full of chili peppers… haheeeeh!?”

“Oooh, that’s our villain clan for you.”

Just as expected. There was something “off” about those buns.

From the bun Ilyu spit out, a mountain of bright red chili peppers came spilling out.

“Ah—yeah, my bro does like pranks like that…”

“Chili-stuffed buns? What a bunch of jerks.”

“Hahiii!! Haheeehh!!”

Good thing nobody else was dumb enough to eat the villain clan’s gift.

It really does pay to act with caution.

---

“…Anyway, putting the idiot aside. I’ve got something to report to everyone.”

“A report?”

“Tomorrow, it seems the villain clan is planning another attack.”

“Hmm.”

As Ilyu flailed on the floor with her swollen lips, Lev-chan dropped an important bit of news.

“An attack!?”

“Yeah. But apparently, it’s just for show.”

“…Just for show?”

According to her, the villain clan was going to launch an attack tomorrow.

But it would only look like an attack—whatever that meant.

“…Big bro said to have Karl surrender during that.”

“Huh? Why the hell should I submit to those villains?”

“…I don’t really get it either. He said Ressal’s full of corpses now, that it’s a super dangerous city or something… he said all kinds of stuff…”

Karl, surrendering to the villain clan, huh.

Knowing his personality, that’s never going to happen.

“…He said he doesn’t want to fight Karl.”

“So what? Is this his way of saying, ‘join us or die’?”

“Probably… but, honestly, I think big bro’s been tricked.”

“He’s been tricked?”

Looking a little apologetic, Lev-chan continued.

“…What he’s saying doesn’t sound like the truth at all. He told me Ressal’s already destroyed, and that everyone living there now is actually dead.”

“…The hell? That’s nonsense.”

“But he was serious. He really, truly believed it…”

…Everyone in Ressal is dead?

There’s no way that’s true.

“Maybe he’s on some kind of weird drug, that Silent Blade guy.”

“So? What do you want us to do with this info?”

“Big bro said he’d be waiting at the west gate. I want us to capture him there.”

Lev-chan looked Ryoga straight in the eyes and bowed her head.

“Are you sure about this, Lev-chan?”

“…Yeah. No matter what his reasons are, I can’t leave big bro with the villain clan. So I want to capture him—and save him.”

It was clear that Lev-chan didn’t believe a word of her brother’s story.

She planned to capture him, even though he came to take Karl away.

“Thanks for telling us… Alright then, let’s capture Rey at the west gate.”

“…After that, I’ll try to talk him down myself.”

“We’re counting on you, Lev-chan.”

And so, Lev came back to us once again.

The showdown is tomorrow. There, we’ll capture Rey the Silent Blade and take down the villain clan in one fell swoop.

Hopefully, Rey will listen to reason.

---

And just like that, the plan to search the enemy hideout was scrapped.

It was an unexpected development, but with Lev-chan back, things were actually looking good. If we could just capture Rey tomorrow, everything would fall into place.

But there was a major pitfall waiting for us.

“Irine...? She wasn’t over here.”

“What?”

“…She wasn’t captured. If she had been, she would’ve definitely ended up with big bro’s unit.”

Lev-chan had just revealed that I hadn’t been captured by the villain clan.

This is really bad.

“Then where the hell did Irine go?”

“She might not be with the villain clan. Maybe she got snatched up by some thugs in Ressal. Let’s search the city.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Sounds likely.”

“…You guys don’t sound very motivated.”

At this rate, they were going to waste time and effort searching for Irine.

And if they eventually figured out that I was the Monkey Mask, I’d be in for a world of trouble.

“…Um, Maika-san, so…”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll help you.”

It had gotten to a point where I couldn’t handle it alone, so I decided to let Maika clean things up.

If it’s her, she’ll make it work somehow.

---

Then, bright and early the next morning, the Monkey Mask burst into Ryoga’s room doing a strange little dance.

“Hey hey! I’m the monkey who answers to no one! That’s why I’m going solo to search the villain clan’s hideout!”

“…O-oh. Do what you want.”

That’s right—the Monkey Mask boldly declared they’d be searching the villain clan’s base alone.

Ryoga, in the middle of preparing to search for Irine and to capture Rey, looked a bit puzzled, but figured it was just more monkey antics and let it go.

“Didn’t the Monkey Mask feel kinda different today?”

“He didn’t seem as shady as usual… Is that weird? Like, being too not shady is shady, right?”

“So he was shady after all? Then I guess that’s normal.”

The fact that the Monkey Mask seemed less suspicious than usual made people suspicious—and somehow, that actually worked out.

“Hey! I found a girl! Look!”

“Ah—Irine!?”

Soon after, the Monkey Mask returned carrying the unconscious noble girl, Irine.

Apparently, she had been asleep deep in the mountains.

“Irine-tan! You’re safe!”

“Heh, nothing to it when I’m on the case. Now, I’ll continue my solo mission to track the villain clan’s base! Later!”

“…O-oh. Good luck out there.”

With that, the Monkey Mask disappeared from town once more.

No one followed after.

---

“It’s been a while.”

“‘Been a while’ isn’t enough. Irine, where the hell have you been?”

“Well…”

After three days, I finally showed my face again and stood before everyone to explain.

Why had I gone missing? The truth was—

“I saw Lev-san being taken away, and I decided to follow the villain clan.”

“What!?”

That’s right—I hadn’t been captured. I had voluntarily gone after them!

“But… I lost them in the forest and got turned around. I’ve been lost out there this whole time.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

“Wandering off alone in unfamiliar territory is dangerous. Be more careful, Irine-tan.”

“I deeply regret it.”

And so—

Thanks to the perfect excuse Maika came up with, I was able to return to being Irine without a hitch.

---

“…I am never wearing that mask again. Let that be the last time, Irine.”

“I owe you, truly.”

The truth was, the one who had been wearing the Monkey Mask just moments ago… was Maika.

Her explanation for me not having been kidnapped and the reason for my absence were both perfectly convincing. As expected of Maika—flawless execution.

“Well then, I’m off to go set up a trap that'll utterly flatten Rey.”

“…Please, don’t overdo it.”

Maika was heading off to lay traps in preparation for the villain clan.

…She seemed incredibly busy, but there was one more thing I absolutely had to tell her.

“Um, Maika-san, I have something else—something confidential to discuss.”

“…There’s more?”

“It’s about Ilyu.”

Yes, the blasphemous healing I had witnessed from Ilyu.

What exactly was that? I tried subtly asking Sakura about it, and apparently, healing magic like that is exceedingly rare.

“…Ilyu was on the brink of death, and then just… healed herself?”

“Yes. I couldn’t believe my eyes either.”

“Hm…”

Hearing that, Maika fell silent and began thinking deeply.

“There was no one else around?”

“Correct. Just me and Ilyu-san. I made absolutely sure of it.”

“…Feels like we’re missing something here.”

Apparently, Maika had a habit of twitching her ears slightly when she was deep in thought.

She stayed silent, mulling it over for a while.

“There’s also the thing I asked you about earlier—regarding Ryoga’s grave.”

“Ah, right. Ryoga’s grave… I’ll need a bit more time for that.”

“Understood. But… is something like raising the dead even possible?”

“Well, I’m no expert in magic, especially healing magic, so I can’t say for sure.”

Maika answered my question with absolute clarity.

“I’ve read plenty of hero legends, and not one of them ever included someone coming back from the dead. That kind of tale only shows up in religious texts, don’t you think?”

---

“We’ll now go over the operation one last time.”

Just before the time Lev-chan said the enemy would strike—

We were holding our final briefing.

“First, Karl and the others will pretend to surrender to the villain clan. They’ll slowly walk toward them with Karl at the front.”

“To show we’re not hostile, we’ll keep our swords sheathed.”

“And once you’re close enough… knock Rey out with a solid punch.”

As he said that, Ryoga handed Karl a rope.

“That’s a rope enchanted to bind on its own. The moment you knock Rey out, use it to restrain him.”

“…Got it.”

“Right after that, the rest of us will come out of hiding and take down the villain clan all at once. If we catch them off guard, we can wipe them out in one swoop.”

Our plan was a simple ambush.

No complicated tactics—just surround them with our watch unit and trap them.

“The key to this plan is whether Karl can knock out Rey.”

“…Yeah.”

“Irine-tan, buff yourself with a physical enhancement spell too. If Karl messes it up, you’re our backup.”

“Understood.”

Ryoga deliberately went with a very straightforward strategy.

He said it was because anything too elaborate would limit flexibility.

“I doubt the enemy will fully trust Karl and the others. They’ll probably be skeptical but still take the bait.”

“Yeah, most likely.”

“If anything unexpected happens, we’ll shift plans immediately. Everyone, follow my lead.”

In other words, this entire plan hinges on Ryoga’s judgment and leadership.

Whatever the villain clan tries, we’ll be ready to deal with it on the spot—and bring down The Silent Blade, Rey.

That’s why we kept the plan simple to the core.

“If they fall for this, it’ll be an easy win.”

“I think the odds of that are pretty good, honestly.”

Ryoga, it seemed, was surprisingly optimistic.

According to him, the villain clan was mostly made up of idiots, which made them easier to outmaneuver.

“It’s almost time.”

“…Yeah.”

If Lev-chan was right, the villain clan would be appearing any moment now.

All we had to do was deceive Rey successfully.

“…Boss! Visual on the villain clan!”

“Alright, everyone to your positions! Decoy squad—act like you’re engaging! Don’t let them catch on to the trap!”

“Understood!”

Just then, our lookout reported in.

It was finally our turn to move.

“Lev, let’s go.”

“Right, Karl.”

Here, we would capture Rey and end everything.

We would bring peace back to the city of Ressal.

“Ressal Vigilant Corps, move out! Let’s finish this once and for all!”

““Yeah!””

…But even so, what was this?

This strange, lingering feeling—like something was off.

Like we had overlooked something truly important.

And this ominous dread growing inside me—what was it, exactly?

---

"Bro!! ...Just like I promised, I convinced Karl and brought him here!"

"...Oh, Lev. So you pulled it off."

When we stepped outside the town, familiar faces greeted us.

They were the band of thieves led by "The Silent Blade Rey"—the man who lopped off my head just a few days ago.

"Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be able to persuade him... Well done, Lev."

"...Because Ressal is dangerous, right?"

"Yeah. That town is truly dangerous. If you keep living there, one day you'll be swallowed up and become indistinguishable from the dead."

Upon seeing us, Rey softened his expression.

Then, looking surprised, he watched as we raised our hands in surrender.

"...So you're Karl, huh. Sorry about that time."

"No. I'm sure you had your reasons too."

Karl and Rey exchanged words from a distance and gave each other a polite nod.

...They still haven’t realized we’re planning a surprise attack.

"I appreciate that you understood the situation and decided to surrender. Welcome."

"Not like I want a warm welcome from a bunch of crooks."

"Hey, don’t be like that."

We started walking, slowly.

Hiding our emotions, concealing our expressions, pretending everything was fine.

"If it wasn’t for Lev-chan asking, there's no way I’d be surrendering to the likes of you."

"...I see. Sounds like you really care about my sister. I appreciate it."

"Of course I do. Lev-chan’s an important comrade of mine."

Karl and Rey kept talking.

Behind them, Maika, Sakura, Ilyu, and I followed in step.

"Relax. Unlike me, who’s fallen into villainy, you guys are still people who can walk under the sun."

"......"

"I'm not going to tell you to join the outlaw life forever. Once you’re out of this land, go wherever you want."

Just twenty steps left between us and Rey. We could clearly see each other’s faces.

If Karl lunged with full strength, he could close that gap in a flash. But if he wants to knock Rey out for sure, he’ll need to get a bit closer.

"Whoa, stop right there. Sorry, but just to be safe, could you drop your weapons here? Karl, I know how strong you are."

"What, don’t trust me after all?"

"Better safe than sorry. Your sword scares the hell out of us. Hope you understand."

With that prompt, we agreed to lay down our weapons.

Karl had planned to take Rey down barehanded anyway. Dropping our weapons didn’t affect the plan at all.

"They're down."

"Have the others drop theirs too, just in case. Especially the mage."

"This staff is quite expensive, you know. You will handle it with care, won't you?"

"Yeah, I’ll have it transported properly."

I can’t risk ruining Karl’s surprise attack. Besides, I can still cast decently strong spells without a staff.

So, I followed Karl’s lead and moved to discard mine—

"...Ah, Irine, hold on a second."

"Maika-san?"

Maika suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly.

"Karl, you too. Stop. Just wait. Give me a minute—no, thirty seconds."

"W-What’s the matter, Maika?"

"Sorry, I’ll make up my mind quickly."

It seemed she didn’t want me to throw away my staff.

What’s going on with her, especially now of all times?

"Hey, Karl. What are you doing?"

"Sorry, Rey. One of my teammates suddenly started objecting."

"Come on, at least get your party on the same page."

Maika’s eyes were staring off into the distance.

Not at Rey or Karl—somewhere much farther away. As if she were looking at something no one else could see.

"So that means... because of that, then..."

"...Hey, hurry up. Are you guys surrendering or not?"

"Hmm... Yeah, I get it. Alright, I’ve decided."

Maika clapped her hands together, as if she'd reached a conclusion.

"Karl, come back here. You’re guarding Irine now."

"Wait, Maika?"

"Irine, right now—create that, um, what’s it called... the anti-magic zone. Big enough to cover this whole area."

"You mean the Muscle Paradise Muscle Musical?"

"Yes, that! Hurry, right now!!"

"Uh, y-yes!!"

I wasn’t totally sure what was going on, but apparently, I needed to perform the Muscle Festival spell.

Well, I do love that spell, so I don’t mind. Even though losing my body enhancement magic is gonna sting a bit.

“Give your applause, Proudits, give your applause, Proudits────”

“H-Hey! You over there, mage! What do you think you're doing…?! Stop that incantation at once!”

“This isn’t a hostile spell, okay? It just disables magic.”

“Don’t give me that crap! What kind of nonsense spell is that?! It’s an attack spell, isn’t it?! If you keep going, we’ll attack together!”

Well, yeah, that reaction makes sense. If a mage suddenly starts chanting some unknown spell right in front of you, it’s only natural to take it as a threat!

I kinda got swept up in Maika’s intensity and started chanting, but… is this really gonna be okay?

“Maika, what are you thinking!?”

“Karl, just shut up and do as I say. Silent Blade will probably charge in any moment now.”

“Of course they will! Why the hell are you picking a fight outta nowhere?! Explain already!”

Despite all his yelling, Karl still stepped in front of me to protect me.

Following her without even getting a reason—yeah, the power dynamic between Maika and Karl is clear as day.

“...Commence attack. Fire all arrows! Take that woman down!”

“Hell yeah! I’m gonna kill that bitch and have my way with her!”

“Been itching for action with all these fine girls around! This is perfect!”

At Rey’s command, a barrage of arrows flew our way. If nothing’s done, I’m gonna get turned into a pincushion.

Karl quickly picked up a sword and began deflecting the arrows headed for me.

“Earth Wall—Earthrig.”

“Nice one, Sakura!”

Before long, a sturdy wall of earth rose in front of me thanks to Sakura’s support.

Now we had a shield against the arrows.

“...Well, thanks for that. So Maika, what exactly are you playing at?”

“Just keep watching. You’ll see soon enough.”

“Now then—let us open the gates to this glorious blood-pumping, flesh-thrashing grand warrior's banquet party! The declaration is made—Is Opened, Danube!”

With that, Maika pointed straight ahead.

“We weren’t the only ones laying traps—it goes both ways.”

And as she said that, she suddenly slapped Lev across the face.

“…Huh?”

“We’re surrounded. There’s a massive number of bandit tribes hidden all around us. If we’d gone a bit farther, we’d have walked right into their net.”

Without giving anyone time to process, Maika drove her foot into Lev-chan’s stomach. Caught off guard, Lev collapsed.

────Everyone was stunned. No one could react to Maika’s sudden actions.

“Now stay quiet for me.”

“Mai…ka────”

Now was the perfect moment—Lev was clutching her stomach in pain.

Maika reached for the binding rope Karl had brought, intending to restrain Lev—

“…You’re underestimating me.”

But Lev, who had only pretended to be hurt, suddenly flipped Maika over.

“Oww!! Dammit—Karl, cover me! Protect Irine!”

“Protect her? Huh!? From who—”

“Seriously!? You still haven’t figured it out!? That girl is—”

Maika had completely misjudged Lev’s strength.

Despite knowing each other for a long time, the two had never actually fought side by side before.

Maika, a complete amateur when it came to combat, had severely underestimated Lev’s capabilities.

“Karl, I’m sorry.”

“Guh!?”

With minimal motion and no wasted effort, Lev’s hand chopped down sharply, landing clean on the back of Karl’s head.

In their party, the only close-range fighter besides Karl was Lev. Because Karl was the point of comparison, her skills had been underestimated—but in reality…

“Too fast—!”

“Guh, Lady! Get behind me!”

Lev was an exceptionally gifted martial artist—far superior to the frontliners of your average adventuring party.

In the chaos of the sudden internal betrayal, Karl stood no chance against Lev’s swift assault.

“Lev, don’t tell me—!”

“…I’m not good with words. I knew I couldn’t talk my way through this. I’m sorry, but I swear I won’t do anything bad.”

“────Ancient arena, Antique—guh!? Ah…ah…ah…”

Breaking through Karl’s defense, Lev slipped behind me while I was still mid-chant and completely defenseless, then wrapped her arms around my neck.

My vision started to black out as blood stopped flowing to my brain.

The final verse of the chant never left my lips, and the spell was interrupted and failed.

Ah, damn it…

“Everyone, don’t move. Do as my brother says.”

“…Ahh, I see. So we’ve all been dancing in the palm of Lev’s hand, huh?”

“I’m sorry… I’ll make it up to you, I promise…”

Still holding me tight, Lev quietly pressed something cold against my neck.

It was Lev’s sword—the one she begged everyone to buy for her back in Yowin, not long ago.

“If you don’t want Irine to die, surrender quietly… please!”

Her voice wavered, on the verge of tears.

She was pleading—shouting at us with desperation in her voice.

The girl’s hand holding the sword… was trembling.