3 bar menu

Indomitable Pride and the Clash of Stealth Blades – Part 06

“I warned you, but you still caused a scene, Silver Face.”

“I don’t care. If you’re so upset, go cry to your precious Emperor.”

“Did you not see the difference in our abilities during our last fight? Or are you acting tough because your friends are here with you?”

“You’re quite chatty for a spy. If you’re done talking, move aside.”

“What if I don’t?”

“It’s a pointless fight.”

“We’ll see. We’ve planted a mole in the Count’s house. If I kill you and give him the credit, he’ll earn favor with the Count, maybe even climb the social ladder. A good plan, wouldn’t you agree?”

Hikaru sighed. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“What did you say?!”

Kutsuwa just didn’t get it.

“Enough talk. Come at me. I’ll humor you and your trivial pursuits.”

“Shut up!”

Kutsuwa charged at Hikaru explosively. The dagger in his hand was smaller than the one earlier. A backup weapon.

“What a weak weapon. Here, you can have this back.”

Hikaru retrieved a dagger from his pocket and hurled it towards Kutsuwa. Hikaru’s throw, boosted by his 2 points on both Muscle Strength and Projectile, was unexpectedly powerful for his physique, driving the blade towards Kutsuwa’s forehead.

“Hmph.”

But Kutsuwa dodged it with just a slight move of his head. He kept his gaze on Hikaru the whole time, so when Hikaru closed in while throwing the dagger, he could easily deal with him.

“Haaah!”

“Ooooh!”

Hikaru’s weapon and Kutsuwa’s backup dagger clashed. Hikaru’s dagger was already broken, so he used the sheath as a makeshift weapon instead.

Kutsuwa’s dagger was partially embedded in the sheath but stopped halfway. Just when it seemed it might turn into a battle of strength, Hikaru let go and spun around, his black cloak billowing. Kutsuwa was caught off guard.

In that instant, Kutsuwa lost sight of Hikaru.

“You and your petty tricks!”

Kutsuwa unleashed a front kick with his iron-plated boots, but his attack sliced through thin air, only grabbing Hikaru’s cloak.

“What?!”

Hikaru had shed his cloak. The figure that was there just moments ago had vanished.

“…”

In the next moment, darkness engulfed Kutsuwa’s vision and consciousness. He probably had no idea what happened—he couldn’t have predicted that Hikaru would slip behind him and strike the back of his neck with a knife-hand blow.

“Is he dead? He’s not dead, right?”

After using the cloak to distract Kutsuwa, Hikaru activated Stealth. If he could escape a person’s line of sight briefly, disappearing into the darkness of the night was easy. Shocked, Kutsuwa couldn’t gather his composure to use his Instinct.

With Stealth active, Assassination also took effect. It worked like this: When the user attacks without the target noticing, the attack will have a lethal effect. Max: 3.

From past experiences, Hikaru knew that simply punching with his bare hands wouldn’t be deadly. He checked Kutsuwa’s pulse and found that he was still alive. He was just unconscious.

“That went well…”

Hikaru picked up his cloak from the ground, dusted it, and put it back on. He also retrieved the sheath of his dagger. It was crucial to reclaim anything that could identify him.

Hikaru knew that pre-planned maneuvers were vital in Stealth battles.

His three-stage strategy—throwing the dagger, using the sheath to counter, and blinding with his cloak—was meant to distract Kutsuwa from Hikaru’s real goal: activating Stealth. Their direct confrontation from earlier played a role in this ruse, making Kutsuwa believe Hikaru would engage in hand-to-hand combat.

“Hikaru, are you okay?”

“Are you hurt?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Hikaru, along with Lavia and Paula, quickly left the mansion through the back entrance. But then, he suddenly stopped.

“You two head back to the inn.”

“What?”

Naturally, Lavia was puzzled by this, as she had assumed they would return together.

“I have some unfinished business.”

“But—”

“Okay,” Paula said. “But please let me cast a healing spell on you first.”

“Not you, too.”

Paula readily agreed, while Lavia, still perplexed, pursed her lips.

“I… I’m really glad that you trusted me to do what I wanted. If there’s something you need to do, I’ll do my best to support you.”

As she began chanting her healing magic, Lavia remarked, “Hngh… A formidable opponent.”

“Formidable? I think you might be using the wrong word,” Hikaru said.

“It’s fine if you don’t know,” Lavia replied, puffing her cheeks and turning away.

Hikaru laughed. “I believed in you too, Lavia. I knew only you could save Paula, so I left the task to you.”

“I just suggested it because I wanted to do it.”

Lavia herself made the decision to rescue Paula personally, driven by the guilt she still felt for Paula’s disappearance. Hikaru had explained to her that Paula was acting of her own free will, but Lavia had a hard time accepting it.

“Same thing. Paula did what she wanted to do, I did what I wanted to do, and you did what you wanted to do.”

“Same thing?”

“Yes. We might be quite similar after all.”

They were all unyielding in their convictions.

As Paula’s healing magic took effect, Hikaru’s wounds closed completely. Paula used a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Hikaru’s cheek.

“Got it. That’s fine… But I need to have a little chat with Paula,” Lavia said.

“Huh, a chat?”

“We need to talk about how you made us worry.”

“Eeek! Lord Hikaru, Lavia looks scary!”

“Enjoy.”

“Lord Hikaru?!”

Hikaru pushed them from behind and waved his hand. Lavia and Paula waved back before disappearing into the night.

“Now, then…”

Hikaru returned to the mansion through the back door. There was something he needed to take care of inside.

“Oh, I…”

Kutsuwa rose to his feet, clutching the back of his head at the spot where they had just fought.

“Already awake? That was quick.”

“Silver Face!”

With no weapons at hand, Kutsuwa took a defensive stance with his fists.

“Come on. I completely destroyed you, and you still wanna go at it?” Hikaru said, astounded. “Isn’t there something else you should be doing?”

“I do, but… It’s too late. The Wandering Saint, who witnessed everything, managed to escape, so I expect Count Dred to destroy all the evidence related to the Phantom Butterfly transactions.”

“Yup. So that means the evidence is still there.”

“So what? Are you telling me to storm into this mansion guarded by knights and security personnel on high alert?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s ridiculous… I’m not afraid of dying, but I’m not dying in vain either.”

Hikaru let out an exaggerated sigh. “You really don’t get it.”

“What the hell’s your problem?! You’ve been acting like you know everything!”

“I’m actually surprised you don’t know anything about this commotion.”

Hikaru pointed his index finger. They could both hear the clamor coming from inside the mansion. It wouldn’t be long before people came here, too.

“I’ve known about it for a while now,” Kutsuwa said.

“No, you don’t.”

“What are you getting at?!”

“We’re not the cause of this racket.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Strictly speaking, something started happening after we left.”

Kutsuwa strained his ears and surveyed the surroundings. “The front gate!”

“Correct.”

“A lot of people are coming…”

Hikaru had sensed many people heading toward Count Dred’s mansion with his Mana Detection. In fact, he had sensed them way earlier, during the battle with Kutsuwa on the rooftop.

They were likely independent adventurers who had been monitoring the Kamori household. Moreover, there were several individuals attempting to sneak into the mansion.

Must be the Thieves’ Guild that Katarina was talking about.

It was only a guess, but Hikaru was actually right on the money.

“What… Is it the Imperial Guard? Did some noble mobilize their troops? I haven’t received any such information.”

“It’s adventurers.”

“That’s ridiculous. They should know the consequences of commoners rising against the nobility.”

“They’re that angry. Most of those who lost their lives to the Phantom Butterfly were the poor. Time to move out. Count Dred is about to get rid of the evidence.”

“Yeah, but…”

“I said the evidence is still there, didn’t I? Security will weaken as they deal with the adventurers. Count Dred will have to get rid of the evidence, either by burning it, or transporting it somewhere. But to do that, he has to first take it out of its hiding place.”

Kutsuwa finally understood what Hikaru was getting at.

“This is the perfect opportunity to steal it, don’t you think? It’s a lot easier than searching for it.”

Seeing Hikaru smile beneath the mask, Kutsuwa felt a chill run down his spine.

He later reported this incident to the intelligence department as follows: “At that moment, Silver Face seemed like an omnipotent god… or perhaps his henchman.”