Volume 11 Chapter 13 Time for the Raid
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Before me loomed the Old Mansion.
It didn’t look anything like the manor of a noble or the estate of a wealthy merchant. No gilded trims, no grand flourishes—just a massive stone cube that seemed as if it had been carved whole from rock. Its walls were bare and unnaturally smooth, the shape too perfect to be natural. Three stories tall. The first and second floors had no windows at all, while the third bore only tiny openings set in painfully neat rows.
Strange, unsettling architecture. But right now, strangeness didn’t matter. Getting inside did.
”What will you do, Sir Soyuz? Shall we make a diversion, like last time?” Lena asked softly, her eyes lifting to meet mine.
She was remembering when we’d stormed that house to rescue Georgia, when she had caused chaos at the front while I slipped in from behind.
”That would work,” I admitted, “but it’s about time you learned more than brute force. Tonight, we all go in together. And unlike ‘that time,’ no guards are patrolling outside.”
The three of them nodded. For months I’d drilled them in infiltration, and tonight was their test.
”Stay close,” I said. “From here on, we use only hand signals. No talking.”
Again, three small nods.
* * *
We circled to the back entrance. As I suspected, no sentries. Moving in silence, we swept through the shadows. Georgia’s movements were sharp, precise—the beastkin’s natural grace sharpened by the dirty assassin’s work she had once been forced into. Lena followed nearly as well, her steps steady, her instincts tuned by months of absorbing my lessons without hesitation.
The problem was Vera. She had her spirit trick—erasing her form and sound like smoke on the wind—but here, with the possibility of elves nearby, such magic could give us away. So I had broken her down and rebuilt her on true stealth. Tonight she followed, eyes shimmering with unshed tears, but her body firm, steps measured. An adventurer at last.
I reached the door and pressed a hand against it. Locked, naturally.
(Watch carefully.)
I crouched low, braced my back to the wood, and raised a mirror to the keyhole while my other hand worked the pick.
Ping!
A metallic snap cracked the silence. A fracture raced across the mirror’s surface.
Lena and Vera gasped, stifling the sound. I showed them the thin needle lodged in the glass. They nodded gravely. To peer directly into the hole would have meant blindness. Even a tiny barb like that could rob a man of his sight forever.
But tricks like these are my specialty. I’ve survived decades on guile, poison, and deceit—there isn’t a trapmaker alive who can best me. I disarmed the device, coaxed the lock open, and eased the door aside.
Inside stretched a stone corridor, neat and orderly, like a carved cave. Three doors lined each side.
(Can you sense how many, and where?)
Georgia gestured back immediately.
(Three behind the second door on the right. Four or more opposite.)
I ruffled her hair in silent approval.
(Kill them?) Vera asked with her fingers, sharp and eager.
(Kill them. I’ll handle it. Watch.)
I stepped to the door and knocked, already rehearsing the possible responses in my head.
”What is it?”
The door cracked open.
(Now.)
A dart flew from my hand, sinking into the guard’s neck. I clamped a palm over his mouth, shoved him inside, and flung another poisoned dart into the second man. Both dropped, dead before they could cry out.
The next room was easier. I slipped a paper soaked in volatile sleep-draught through the gap. By the time I had counted to a hundred, the thumps of collapsing bodies told me it was done. We entered, finishing them at our leisure.
Room by room, we swept the floor. Only low-ranking workers and a few trinkets filled the space. Nothing important.
(Upstairs.)
The second floor mirrored the first. This time, I signed to them.
(Your turn.)
They moved exactly as I had taught—silent, precise, merciless. Vera pressed her ear to the doors, her sharp hearing guiding the others. Lena and Georgia struck swiftly, leaving no voice to call alarm. Before long, the floor was cleared.
The first floor was a warehouse. The second, offices. To a casual eye, just another magic-tool merchant house. But I knew better.
(The third floor—that was the one. I would lead. The others would cover.)
We climbed.
This time the stairs ended not in a hallway, but in a door. Likely one vast chamber beyond, maybe two. These places always followed the same pattern: the near room served as the last wall, the farthest hid the prize.
I paused, leaving the three on the steps. Alone, I approached the door and studied it.
Charging in and subduing the enemy would be reckless. But blasting the chamber apart would erase any evidence along with the foe. No, this smelled wrong. If that robed man, the one I deliberately let go, had returned, then surely more defenses should have been waiting. Yet all had been eerily calm until here.
Which meant—
(Yes. A trap. Absolutely.)
I signaled the others.
”Spirit power!” Vera suddenly cried. She slipped past me in a flash, hands raised.
”Wind Spirit—please!”
The moment her barrier shimmered into place, the door exploded outward and a volley of ice arrows screamed toward me. They shattered harmlessly against her wall of wind.
I traced a circle with my left hand, chanting as my own shield spread wide.
”Lena! Georgia! With me!” I called.
I kicked the splintered remains of the door aside and burst into the chamber.
Fewer than ten robed men waited inside, each hefting a massive tube-like device on his shoulder.
The same kind of weapon Volodya had worn on his arm? Likely. A magic tool designed to seal Spirit Power into its core, then fire it at a target. But since no second barrage followed, they were probably single-shot.
In that case—
”Cut them down!”
I slashed through the first man. At the same instant Lena and Georgia split left and right, their weapons blurring. In a heartbeat the chamber was drenched in crimson, the robed men collapsing where they stood.
In these cramped spaces, Lena’s small frame and Georgia’s lightning speed were unmatched. Once, I had filled that role. Now, it was theirs.
Well. So be it.
”Vera, that was perfect,” I said, ruffling her hair. “You kept me safe. Thank you.”
She twitched her ears, puffed her cheeks, and let out a smug little snort of pride.
”Lena, Georgia—you two were sharp as ever. Fast, precise, and this time you even coordinated.”
Like puppies waiting for praise, both nearly vibrated with anticipation. Georgia all but wagged herself to pieces, tail whipping behind her. I gathered them close, rewarding their eager eyes.
”～～～～～～～!”
”Awwwhh!”
They melted with delight under my hand. Still, I scanned the chamber again. Eight robed men, each with their tubes still clutched in lifeless hands.
”They must have kept the lower floors ignorant,” I mused. “Let us think we’d taken the place easily, then strike all at once from behind the door.”
My theory drew a round of sighs—half impressed, half exasperated—from the three girls.
”Such villainy… but Sir Soyuz, how did you uncover it so easily? For my education, might I beg you to explain?” Lena asked solemnly.
”Simple,” I replied just as seriously. “Because in their place, I would’ve done the same. It’s efficient, certain, and the odds favor success. But this time their opponent was wrong. Battles often come down to who can think of the most unpleasant tactic for the enemy. And I happen to be very, very good at nasty, underhanded fighting. That’s why I’m still alive.”
”Ah… I… I see. That is… enlightening,” Lena murmured.
”N-noted,” Vera stammered.
”U-um…” Georgia tried.
I blinked. Strange. I’d given a perfectly sound explanation. Yet all three only managed weak smiles and stiff nods.
Well. Perhaps my higher strategies were still beyond them.
Notes:
• Lena – Female. A young slave girl in her early teens. Her appearance is emaciated with brown skin, long black hair, and grotesque scars across her face, including one that blinds her left eye. She wears a black collar and tattered clothing. Her relationship to the protagonist is that of a rescued victim. She is silent and appears to have endured severe physical and emotional abuse.
• Volodya – A mysterious and powerful elf, never seen by Soyuz before, who seeks to purge Lucia. He exudes killing intent and is strong enough to intimidate Soyuz.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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