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Stealth Kid Goes to Cotton-elka – Part 06

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“L-L-Lord Hikaru?! What are you doing here?!”

“I’ll explain later. The hut is collapsing. Go!”

“W-Wait!”

While Pia and Paula were utterly confused, Priscilla followed Hikaru, so the two girls moved as well. They climbed out through the waist-high window and found one of the veteran adventurers lying on the ground up ahead.

“Was this your doing?” Paula asked.

“Yes. Let’s get out of here quick.”

Hikaru headed for the woods. Once inside, they wouldn’t be found right away.

Hikaru planned to have Lavia, who was hiding in the bushes, cast fire magic into the hut. The adventurers assumed that the girls were still inside. If powerful magic was shot at it, they would definitely panic and flee into the forest before checking for bodies inside.

Hikaru, however, skipped over that part.

“Screw that!” Pia roared. “We’re not running away without a fight. They think we’re still inside. This is our chance to—”

Hikaru face-palmed.

“Hey! They’re out of the hut!”

It was only logical that being loud would give them away. Hikaru thought the adventurers would come after them, but they didn’t.

“F-Forget them! You there! I-It’s not like we attacked anyone—Aaah!”

There was an explosion, followed by a scream. Wondering what was happening, Hikaru readied himself, when he saw a figure on horseback heading towards their direction.

“Were you the one inside the hut?”

Hikaru couldn’t believe his eyes. It was the first time he had seen a white horse since coming to this world. Moreover, the person riding it seemed straight out of a fairy tale. It was a young woman, with blonde hair tied back in a chignon, and piercing blue eyes.

Her well-shaped nose and pink lips gave Hikaru the impression of a perfect beauty.

There was something unusual about her. Her silver breastplate looked like a work of art, with magnificent ornamental carving on its surface. Her thin cloak and inner garments were all an elegant beige, highlighting her immaculateness.

And this immaculateness was what was wrong. In a world where walking outside would get you covered in dust and dirt, and where fighting would mean spraying yourself with blood, wearing clothes of such color was foolish. They got dirty very quickly.

The fact that she was wearing them suggested that she had the means to buy new clothes immediately, or her line of work involved frequently meeting with people in high positions.

When the adventurers spotted Paula and the others escaping from the hut, they sprang into action. They fled.

“Fuck! We’re out of here!”

“Oh no, you don’t.”

The lady on horseback threw the rope around her waist, wrapped it around the man’s arm, and pulled him down to the ground. She then dismounted, pulled out a sword, and pressed the tip of the blade against the man’s nose.

Sunlight glinted off her silver breastplate.

Her every movement was so refined and breathtaking.

“You don’t look like a bandit, but you burned a hut and attempted to attack the people inside. I can’t let that slide. I, Selyse Lande of the Four Eastern Stars, hereby put you under arrest.”

---

Upon inquiry, Hikaru learned that a party of adventurers known as the Four Eastern Stars was on its way to Cotton-elka. After finally completing a commission that dragged on for so long, they returned to the royal capital’s Adventurers’ Guild, where they learned about the situation in the Forest of Deception. Despite there being no commission issued, they decided to head for Cotton-elka immediately, purely for the purpose of helping people.

Their virtuousness surprised Hikaru. Or not really.

They’re so sure of themselves.

They wouldn’t charge into a place crawling with monsters if they didn’t have the confidence.

The Four Eastern Stars was an all-female party of adventurers, each one of them Rank B. Because commissions to the Adventurers’ Guild sometimes specified that only parties could take it, most adventurers joined one.

One veteran adventurer and two younger ones were lying on the ground, tied up.

“It looks like you know these people,” Selyse said.

“We do!” Pia exclaimed. Her voice was shrill, and there was a twinkle in her eyes. “We fought together once in the woods near Pond. It was against Goblins! Then they double-crossed us. My friend here, Paula, was going to be sacrificed!”

She was trying her best to explain, but could not get the point across. Pia seemed to know about the Four Eastern Stars; she admired them. As a female adventurer, Selyse, a Rank B adventurer, must be a huge celebrity in her eyes.

“Pia, I-I don’t think she understood,” Paula cut in. “Actually, we filed a complaint against them to the guild,” she explained instead. “They tried to escape by offering my friends… or rather me, to the Goblins. They knew what they did was wrong, so they never showed up in Pond again. I think they’re here because these two younger men live in a village nearby.”

Selyse looked at the man. “I see. You know what happens if you hand over a girl to a horde of Goblins, don’t you?”

The men shrank from her icy stare. They couldn’t speak because they were gagged.

“So, who’s the boy?”

Selyse turned her gaze towards Hikaru.

“I just happened to be in the area—”

“He’s Lord Hikaru! Right?”

“…”

It was hard to believe she was the same person who gave a coherent explanation just now.

“Um, what?” Selyse was confounded as well.

“I was just on my way to Cotton-elka,” Hikaru said. “Did you run into a man on horseback on the way?”

“Ah, that guy. He said that bandits might be attacking people, so we sent our horses to a gallop.”

That was close, Hikaru thought.

He was glad that Lavia didn’t have to use her magic.

The name Four Eastern Stars was familiar to him. It was related to the murder of Count Morgstadt in the town of Pond. The people that were transporting the murder suspect, the Count’s daughter Lavia, to the royal capital was a party called Distant Glittering Stars, led by Nogusa, a Rank C adventurer. But it wasn’t supposed to be their job.

The mission was originally assigned to the Four Eastern Stars—Selyse’s group. Even though they didn’t take the commission, there was a possibility that Selyse had learned Lavia’s name and appearance from the guild, so Hikaru could not show Lavia to them.

Also, Selyse was much stronger than Nogusa.

【Soul Board】Selyse Lande
Age: 19 | Rank: 41 | 2

【Vitality】
【Natural Recovery】6
【Stamina】5
【Immunity】
【Magic Resistance】1
【Toxin Immunity】2

【Strength】
【Muscle Strength】3
【Weapon Mastery】
【Sword】5
【Shield】4
【Armor】3

【Agility】
【Power Burst】4
【Balance】3

【Willpower】
【Mental Strength】4
【Faith】
【Holy】5
【Charisma】3
【Appeal】3

Her 5 points on Sword under Weapon Mastery caught Hikaru’s attention. Lawrence D. Falcon, the inhuman Sword Saint and commander of Ponsonia’s knights, had 6 points on Greatsword. She was just one level lower, which meant she was very skilled.

Selyse’s party had three other members. They were patrolling the vicinity for other bandits, so they weren’t here. A light-footed scout, a nun, and a Mage in a robe with a white hood over her head. If each one of them was as good as Selyse; the four of them together would probably be stronger than Lawrence.

We should leave as soon as possible.

“You’re going to Cotton-elka, too?!” Paula asked. “Wh-Why?”

“I-I just felt like it,” Hikaru answered.

He couldn’t tell her that he was headed there to make sure that she didn’t throw away the life that he saved. It would have sounded like he was going there to help her, or worse, that he believed he could suppress the dungeon alone.

“Wow. You’re going to a dungeon full of monsters just because you felt like it?” Selyse said. “Either you’re confident in your abilities, or you’re just stupid.” She eyed Hikaru with pure curiosity.

“With the Four Eastern Stars around, we should be fine!” Pia said. “Thank you for coming. Now the village will be safe. Please stay with us in Cotton-elka. My father is the village chief, so our house is the biggest!” She inched closer to Selyse.

“I-In that case, you can stay at my place, Lord Hika—”

“I’ll be fine on my own.”

“What?!”

With Lavia around—she should still be lurking in the bushes—there was no way he could stay at Paula’s house by himself.

“I’ll be heading to Cotton-elka on my own,” Hikaru said. “Besides, that horseman is coming back.”

“Why not just wait for him here with us?” Selyse suggeted. “That man said he was going to call for backup, so we can hand over these guys to them. My friends should be back soon.”

“Good idea!” Paula agreed. “Please stay, Lord Hikaru.”

“Then I’ll just go meet the horseman.”

“Come on, now. Just stay here.” Selyse reached a hand out.

Hikaru evaded her grab. “I’ll see you later.”

“Stubborn, are we?”

“I get nervous when I’m surrounded by women. I’m very shy, as you can see.”

Hikaru turned his back on the girls and trotted back the way he came. Selyse watched him with great interest, Paula with regret, Pia with indifference, and Priscilla absentmindedly.