CH 204

Shortly before Lars and the others set up camp, a disturbing shadow loomed over the lord’s mansion where Basleigh remained.

“It’s getting dark. It’s time for a change.”

“Yeah, but without the maids and servants, there’s not much light.”

One of the men guarding the gate of the lord’s mansion cowers as he stands tall and looks at the mansion behind him. A colleague replies.

“The Lord has taken some time off. Well, we’re working like this, though.”

“Haha, well, it’s good to have a job. It’s nice to get paid even if you don’t …… Hm?”

In the dark and silent darkness, the sound of sand being stepped on can be heard, and one of the gatekeepers turns his eyes from the house to the front, stares with lowered eyebrows and mutters.

“What the ……?”

“It’s an animal, isn’t it? …… No, it’s not! Ugh ……!?”

The knife that flew from the darkness pierced his shoulder. It’s a good thing he noticed the discomfort on the way and twisted around to avoid getting stabbed in the throat. In the meantime, five shadows with hoods over their heads surrounded the two gatekeepers.

“Bandits! I’ll hold them off here, you go get some backup!”

“O-Okay! Sor-, ry ……”

“What!?”

As soon as he was about to attack, his colleague who had his back to him fell forward and startled him. I’m sure there was no one behind me, he thought to himself. The gatekeeper thrusts his spear at the nearest hooded figure, then swings it sideways, forcing him to step back.

He quickly turned my eyes as he backstepped to check behind me, and was surprised to see a small hooded figure standing in front of him.

“‘When did you ……!?”

“Kuku, good night.”

“This is …… guh ……”

A cloud of powder flew in front of the gatekeeper, and sleepiness overtook him. He tried to stay conscious using his spear as a staff, but the powerful sleeping powder cut him off. Then one of the hooded men opened his mouth with a laugh.

“Alright, let’s get to work. We’re going to uproot everything so that we can live up to Kelbrem-san’s expectations.”

“I’ve heard it’s okay to kill everyone in the lord’s family. It’s been a while since we’ve seen blood.”

When they said that, Reiss peeked out of her hood and said with a resentful look on her face 

“Wait a minute. I’ve never heard of that, though? I’m against killing. A little scaring would do the trick.”

“I’m with her. We’re doctor’s subordinates. We came here because he asked us to, but if that’s the case, we’re leaving. If Doctor wants me to kill, I’ll do it, I don’t plan to do anything else than that, I’m sorry, though.”

When Irumi turned on her heel, Reiss nodded and started to head back the way she came. One of them hurried to hold her back.

“Okay, okay! I’m not going to kill him, because that would be too hard for a woman. It’s enough to break the lord’s arm. If you return back, Kelbrem-san’s anger will be directed at us.”

“……”

“If you try to kill them, I’ll stop you, okay?”

The five hooded men nodded as Reiss narrowed her eyes and smashed the key to the gate to get inside. The first five men entered, followed by Reiss and Irumi. Then the men began to speak in secret, so that they could not be heard.

“…… You fools, you’re targets too.”

“The lord’s wife, daughter, and these guys, we’re going to have fun and then kill them, right?”

“Yeah. Nevertheless, Kelbrem-san is terrifying. He’s planning to attack the lord’s mansion to get rid of these guys.”

“It seems that the appearance of Retzel and the others was unplanned. Kelbrem-san doesn’t like that guy, so he’s going to kill him to make an example of him. It’s a scenario where he fought a gatekeeper like the one from earlier and they ended up fighting each other.”

“Well, let’s just give it a shot, shall we?”

With a chuckle, they checked the windows of the house. Normally the rooms are well lit, but since they are all empty at the moment, they could easily see where the people were.

“…… So that’s the dining room, let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

He looked at the floor plan of the house to see which room had a light, and broke the appropriate window noiselessly to enter.

The door was slightly open and he was able to see inside.

“You know, you shouldn’t drink too much …… because you just had another painful experience yesterday …….”

“It’s okay! The two of them aren’t here now, either! It’s a really good work this time ……”

“I think I’m going to tell Lars-san and Makina-oneesama about this!?”

“Hiii!? Henrietta-chan, you can’t do that ……!”

The men tilted their heads as they saw Basleigh still drinking and shoveling snacks into her mouth.

“What? There’s an unknown woman here ……?”

“What can one woman do. Let’s just say the treat increased.”

“But one of them’s a kid. Look at her, she’s eating her dinner with a stuffed lizard.”

The men drew their weapons and smiled at the easy work. Reiss also muttered, peeking quietly into the dining room.

“An unknown woman? ……!? Why is she here!? And that’s ……!”

Irumi called out, wondering about Reiss, who backed away. The men paid no attention to Reiss and began to plan their attack.

“What’s wrong?”

“This is not a good place. That’s Basleigh-sensei, she knows my face and if she sees me, I’ll be in trouble. We’re done here. You can do whatever you want.”

“Oops, not so fast. You guys, let me handle this and step in!”

“Get out of the way, ……! That stuffed animal’s trouble too, so you’d better retreat.”

“What’s with the stuffed animal? …… Okay, let’s go!”

And then, with a bang, the door was kicked open and four men attacked. The first thing they do is reach out to Henrietta, the closest one, for a hostage.

“W-Who the hell are you guys!? W-What happened to the gatekeepers!?”

“I’m sure they’re related to the threat letter from how they look, Henrietta-chan, come here!”

The man clicks his tongue and raises his sword when Basleigh shouts. He was aiming at her legs, trying to make her immobile.

“If you had remained quiet, you wouldn’t have been hurt.”

“Kya ……!?”

“Noooo!? Henrietta!”

Rakute screamed with her hands on her cheeks, but it was of no use. It seemed that the assassin’s  blade was going to hurt Henrietta, but then–

Klaaaaaang!

“W-What……!?”

“It got repelled ……!?”

When Henrietta bent down and closed her eyes, a magic circle appeared around her, and repelled the sword. He tried to attack again, but the magic circle repelled him each time.

“Damn it, what’s this!?”

“W-Who’s there!?”

A voice that didn’t belong to anyone there sounded, and the man shouted from a distance. Then, a stuffed animal slipped out of Henrietta’s arms and appeared in front of the men.

The true identity of the stuffed animal …… was, without a doubt, Sarge, who was supposed to be in the town of Gust. He flapped his wings and addressed the men in the hood in a dignified voice.

“T-The lizard spoke ……!?”

“No, it’s not. It’s got horns …… This thing’s a dragon ……! W-What the hell is it doing here!?”

“…… W-Well, look, it’s not that big …… We can take it down if we all work together, right? Maybe we’ll get a reward for killing a dragon?”

“What the hell is that ……?”

“Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Ok.”

In a cold sweat, the men raised their weapons and pointed them at Sarge. Immediately afterwards, Reiss and Irumi, who were behind the door, left the place, passing by the side of another man who was standing on the left and right.

“…… Tch, report back when you get back. I’m going to join in exterminating lizards.”

The man who had been trying to keep Reiss and the others from escaping joined them and snapped his neck. When Sarge heard this, he sighed and opened his mouth.

“M-Mhm. No problem. If it breaks, we can fix it.”

When he said this, Sarge put magic into his body, and he’s growing larger as they watch him, he grew larger and became a little bigger than the men.

“E-Even if you got bigger!”

“The material is going to sell for a lot of money.”

The men slashed at Sarge. But, of course, the sword can’t reach Sarge, who is protected by Auto-protection.

“Guha …..!?”

“The armor is shattered by a single blow! Uoooohhhhh!?”

One of them was hit by a randomly swung tail and fell to the floor with his armor in pieces. The one who was watching from the side was bitten in the torso from the side by Sarge, who crunched the armor with his teeth.

“Gaaaaaaaah ……”

Sarge spat out the armor and closed the gap while glaring at the three remaining people. What followed was tragic. The man who was directly hit by the fireball was severely burned, the man whose torso was ripped open by the claws was in agony, and the man who was hit had his face swollen up.

“Well, as expected of Sarge-kun! You’re so strong!”

As Sarge swoops back to his original size, Basleigh, who is tying up the men, says to Sarge with a smile 

“Who knows? But, I hope they know about the threat letter or the mastermind, though? My Lord, do you recognize any of these guys?”

Basleigh pulls off his hood to reveal his face, but the three of them shake their heads and give him a stern look.

“…… I don’t recognize any of these faces. ……”

“Yeah ……”

“I’m even more so because I don’t get out of the house much ……”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t expecting it. All you have to do is interrogate them, Uhihihi ……”

As Sarge landed on the sofa, she spoke to Basleigh.

“Well, I’ve got a request from the government as well. But more importantly, is it alright over there? I didn’t expect Lars-kun to be able to use Summon.”

Lars’ trump card. It was the [Summon] skill he learned from Aina. Knowing that Aina had made a contract, Lars had made a contract with Sarge.

Although it was one-sided, it was literally a trump card that could draw the strongest force to his side even for a moment. Lars had no choice but to call Sarge, as he felt that the strength of the house was thin.

“No, no, aren’t you going to be forcefully returned by [Summon]?”

When Sarge asked for food, Henrietta, who had been pouting, shivered and answered.

“Ah, oh, yes! For a real dragon to be his friend …… I wonder who Lars-san really is ……”

No answer was given, and the meal resumed.

An unexpected hidden trick! Is this something only the brother and sister can do? But if Aina finds out, I feel like she’s going to scream and cry (lol).

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“I didn’t think he could possibly do that ……”

The flag was already raised before the journey, though. Sarge shows up when you least expect it! He’s also very popular.

“He’s a big brother, after all.”