Chapter 9 | The Assassin and the Hero Face Off
My classes were done. Our first day at school had mostly just been lectures.
“Hey, Lugh, want to get lunch at the café? The members of Class S should build a sense of unity,” said Naoise.
“Sorry, I can’t today. Please invite me next time, though.”
I understood how building intimacy with my classmates was essential, but I needed to check the contents of that letter as soon as possible.
“That’s too bad.”
“If Lugh isn’t going, then I’m gonna head back to the dorm, too,” Dia declared, and Tarte nodded.
“No, you two should go. It would look bad if none of us went, so can you both go and represent House Tuatha Dé for me?” I asked.
I wanted to avoid the three of us isolating ourselves here. If they went with the others, they could create some connections.
“Okay, I understand. You should do your part to get close to everyone, too, Lugh.”
Dia had grown up the daughter of a count, so she was used to the nobility’s politics. I didn’t need to spell this kind of thing out for her.
I smiled at Tarte, who was looking anxious, and then I returned to the dorm.
The carrier pigeon was resting its wings in our apartment’s birdcage. The little creature had a letter tied to one of its legs.
“You must’ve worked really hard to get here. You did a good job,” I said, petting the bird.
I took the message and opened it.
“It’s from Dad. Not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.”
He was just asking how things were going at the academy, if I was watching my diet, and if I needed any money.
This is a code. There’s no way he would use a carrier pigeon to send that kind of missive.
When using a carrier pigeon, there was a risk of an intercept and information leaking. For that reason, the letter was encoded so that if a third party read it, it would just seem like the simple message of a dad worried about his son. The cryptic dispatch would raise suspicion if the content didn’t make any sense.
I got to work on decoding the note.
“…I see, that’s why he contacted me.”
After reading all the way through, I laughed.
Apparently, an assassin had infiltrated the academy to assassinate the hero, Epona. I needed to find that assassin and kill them. The headmaster had already been informed and could provide me with backup. There was no information about the killer, so I first needed to identify them.
“I need to protect Epona? What kind of joke is this? Like any assassin would actually be able to kill him. Just let them try.”
From the moment I’d laid eyes on Epona, I’d been thinking about how to off him. Unfortunately, I’d still yet to come up with an answer. Even if I were to catch him completely off guard, it would’ve been nearly impossible.
In my mind, I imagined how best to end Epona if he warmed up to me and approached in a vulnerable state. Even then, I could only see my attempts ending in failure.
As of right now, the attack with the highest probability of killing him was Gungnir. And even that would take more than one shot.
I could’ve launched multiple god spears into the sky for as long as my mana would hold and then carpet-bombed Epona while he was sleeping. By my estimation, however, even that plan would’ve only had about a 20 percent chance of getting the job done.
Who is this idiot who thinks they’re going to be able to kill him?
“…Whatever, I’ll look for them.”
Perhaps Epona had some weak point I didn’t know about.
Despite being tasked with assassinating the hero, it now fell to me to protect him. How ironic.
Later that evening, we went to the workout room. I was currently performing a mock battle with Tarte.
Tarte accelerated using both her physical strengthening and her wind affinity.
I used the same trick. I was the one who taught her the tactic, so I could do it, too.
We were moving at about the same speed. There was a clear difference forming between us, however. It was one born of our eyes. Tarte was unable to register my actions clearly, but I could see everything she was doing perfectly. She didn’t have a chance.
The fight ended after about thirty seconds when I knocked her spear down.
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to beat you, my lord…”
“No, you’re doing well. I have an unfair advantage.”
“Is it your eyes? …I’m jealous.”
“Tarte, do you want a pair of these eyes?”
I did think it best that Tarte had them, but it might not have been what she wanted.
“Of course. If I have those eyes, I can be a greater help to you, and most importantly, it’ll ensure that I can be with you forever.”
“If you truly want them, then I think it would be okay to give them to you. But you should know there is a small risk of blindness if the surgery fails. I want you to think about that before you make a decision.”
“I don’t need to think about it. I want them anyway. There’s no way you’ll fail, my lord, and even if you do, I’ll have no regrets.”
“…There’s no way I can let myself fail after hearing you say that. I can’t betray your trust.”
Tarte said she would have no regrets even if the operation failed. Whatever I did, didn’t want to be the cause of her losing her sight.
…That’s it! Once I find the assassin going after Epona, I can experiment on them until I’m satisfied I can safely perform the surgery. Anyone entrusted with the job of killing the hero must surely have been a powerful mage. I would kill them anyway, so there was no harm in getting some use out of them first.
“Hey, Lugh. I have a suggestion. When you do the procedure, what about taking it one eye at a time? If the first eye goes well, then you can move on to the next. That way, worst-case scenario, she’ll only go blind in one eye,” Dia suggested.
“Good idea. That’s what I’ll do,” I agreed.
“Lord Lugh, when are you going to do the surgery?” Tarte asked me, her eyes sparkling. This girl believed in me from the bottom of her heart.
“Please try not to think about it too much; it might not be until a month from now. I have some preparation I need to do first,” I replied.
If I can just capture the assassin, then I’ll be able to practice.
“I’m so excited… But are you sure it’s okay for me to have those eyes? They’re one of the Tuatha Dé clan’s most closely guarded secrets.”
“I don’t mind at all. You’re family, Tarte. And this isn’t just hypothetical. I have permission from Dad. He says I can do as I like as long as I take appropriate responsibility.”
Tarte had been serving me since we were little. She wasn’t some simple retainer.
“Huh?! Family? Responsibility? I, um, whaaa—?”
Tarte’s ears flushed red, and she looked down at the floor.
“…I didn’t mean it like that. And I definitely want to avoid a situation where I have to take responsibility.”
The responsibility I was talking about was how I’d have to kill Tarte if she betrayed me after I gave her the Tuatha Dé eyes.
“O-okay, I understand. I understand fully.”
She was adorable when she got riled up.
For a moment, I thought about becoming family in the way that Tarte imagined. It was a nice idea.
Our first week at school had passed without incident. Combat practice was beginning. The assassin after Epona hadn’t made a move yet.
We were currently performing one-on-one mock battles, with students being matched up based on their strength. Everyone was fighting with blunted weapons, and the use of magic was allowed.
Tarte’s match ended, and she exited the ring. She didn’t fight a servant, but rather the fifth-ranked student in the class, and beat her opponent handily.
“How did I do?”
“You handled the spear skillfully. You did make several mistakes, though. First…”
Tarte listened with a serious expression. Her ability to patiently listen to feedback and learn from it was her greatest weapon.
While I was talking to her, the match between Naoise, a skilled swordsman, and Finn, a young man from a long line of knights, began.
The entire class was entranced. Their match was a pure sword fight, which made it splendid to watch. Naoise won in the end, but it felt like it could’ve gone either way.
Next, my turn arrived.
Combat pairs were chosen based on each student’s fighting prowess. Naoise, Finn, Dia, Tarte, and all the other highest-ranking students had already had their turns.
This left only one possible person who could be my partner.
“Next, Epona Rhiannon and Lugh Tuatha Dé.”
Welp, it’s Epona and me.
This was as good an opportunity as I could’ve asked for to observe the hero’s strength firsthand—if I survived.
The commander of the Royal Order who had fought Epona during the exam was still bedridden. Despite receiving treatment from an elite healer, he still hadn’t recovered.
The professor chose me to face Epona because he thought anyone else in the class would suffer the same fate. It was high praise, in a way.
“Um, Lugh, let’s have a good match.”
“Yeah, let’s show the fruits of our training.”
“I’m going to be careful, so please try not to get hurt.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I gave the professor a look that said, “Are you really making me do this?” He just nodded in response.
“Are you two ready?”
“I’m good anytime,” I replied.
“I’m ready, too,” followed Epona.
I was using a blunted knife. I had no desire to use a sword. An accident was bound to happen if I didn’t use the sort of weapon I was most comfortable with.
The professor raised his hand.
I immediately began to pour mana into my eyes. If I didn’t power up my Tuatha Dé eyes to their limit—actually, past their limit—I wouldn’t even be able to keep track of Epona’s shadow. A sharp pain ran through my body due to the excessive strengthening, but I maintained this state by using Rapid Recovery to heal myself forcibly.
“Begin!”
Epona disappeared immediately. This was exactly what’d happened against the commander of the Royal Order.
The difference was that I had Tuatha Dé eyes.
I could follow Epona, but only barely. I stepped to the side and left my knife floating in the air. If I tried to attack the hero while still holding my weapon, my arm would probably break.
The ring cracked as Epona charged at me. My knife was blasted away faster than a speeding bullet, piercing a seat in the stands. I’d only barely managed to dodge Epona’s attack, but I was knocked back about half a meter from the rush of air.
It was only barely visible, but a bruise formed on Epona’s arm from hitting the knife.
The knife should have inflicted massive damage upon impact at that speed, but the hero’s skin was unbelievably tough.
“…You dodged it. You evaded my attack. Just as I’d hoped, you’re not going to get hurt.”
Epona laughed. It was an innocent, joyful laugh from the bottom of his heart.
He then looked at me.
All right, I dodged his first attack, but what will he do next?
This may have been a practice bout, but my life was on the line nonetheless. Even so, I wanted to keep going.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login