Chapter 20 | The Assassin Takes Consideration
We secured lodgings in Jombull upon arrival, electing to prepare in town until the demon attacked. That way, we’d be ready whenever Liogel appeared.
We were holding a strategy meeting as we ate.
“Mmm, the food in this city is so good. This is so nostalgic,” Dia said, taking a bite with a look of satisfaction on her face.
We were eating meunière prepared with river fish that had been sautéed in butter. The stir-fried onions helped set the dish apart from similar ones.
The flavor was nothing special, but it must have reminded Dia of home. This city was close to the border with the Soigelian Kingdom, and its influence could be seen even in the food.
“Um, Lady Nevan, is it okay for you to be eating with us?” asked Tarte timidly.
“Of course. As I said the other day, when I travel with you to fight demons, I am a teammate and of the same station as the rest of you,” the daughter of House Romalung answered.
I gave one condition for Nevan while traveling with us: She had to agree to simply being a comrade rather than the scion of a duke.
The requirement hadn’t been born of a desire to be friendly with her. Rather, maintaining the chain of command was an essential part of operating as a team. Even in a tiny squad like this, the presence of two leaders would dramatically hamper the quality of our performance.
“That doesn’t change the fact that you are a high-ranking noble, Lady Nevan…”
“Modesty is certainly one of your best qualities, Tarte, but it’s also a weakness. This is how armed forces operate. Even children of elite aristocrats need to follow orders absolutely, and they can’t receive any special treatment. If some troops were treated differently than others, everyone would die,” Dia explained.
“Dia’s correct. I brought Nevan along because she said she could handle it,” I added.
“And I can. So, Tarte, please follow Dia’s example and just call me by my name,” Nevan insisted.
“O-okay, N-Nevan,” Tarte stammered, nervously dropping the honorific.
“There you go, that’s it. Ah, can you pass the salt, Nevan?” Dia requested.
“Yes, here you are.”
Somehow, I felt like dropping the respectful title had been too easy for Dia. She was probably used to dealing with eminent nobles.
“You remember my other condition, right?” I questioned.
“Yes, of course. I am not to tell anyone of the information I learn here or misappropriate any of your technology,” Nevan answered.
“That’s right. We possess technology and tactics that we don’t want anyone to know about. When fighting a demon, we can’t afford to keep any of our cards hidden. If you can’t accept that condition, I will do everything in my power to prevent you from tagging along.”
That was another thing we had agreed on beforehand. Nevan was sworn never to reveal the secrets of Gun Strike, Gungnir, Railgun, or any of my other techniques.
It was impossible for me to kill a demon without the powerful spells I’d developed. Furthermore, once I had decided on a plan that used them, I couldn’t begin the mission without all my teammates understanding how they worked.
“I will keep my promise. If I decided not to keep it, what would you do?”
“Nothing. It would confirm that you are an enemy whom I can never trust again. You can poke as many holes in this agreement as you like. For example, you could have a lifelong servant of House Romalung tag along and have them share what you saw for you. I am intentionally choosing not to obstruct that kind of loophole. However, know that I will regard you as an enemy if you do so,” I cautioned.
“Oh goodness, that would break my heart. Still, are you sure you’re willing to treat House Romalung as hostile?”
“Yes. You’ve made it plain how highly you think of my abilities… And killing you wouldn’t be a problem. Even if you are a Romalung.”
I intentionally revealed my killing intent to Nevan. That served as a threat and as a show of my determination. Her eyes went wide, and she held her hands to stop them from shaking.
“Ha-ha-ha, you’re definitely an assassin. What a cold gaze. But I like that. Please trust me. I won’t do anything to displease you. You’re my important future husband.”
“I don’t remember ever consenting to that last part.”
“What does your consent have to do with it?”
She really was a Romalung.
“Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s finish our meal. Afterward, we’ll discuss strategy,” I announced.
“Yes, let’s enjoy the food of the common folk,” said Nevan.
“This is a feast,” Tarte corrected, looking at Nevan strangely.
The two of them had polar opposite origins. Nevan was born a duke’s daughter, and Tarte, in a poor agricultural village.
It was time to put everything aside and eat. I needed to recover from the exhaustion of the long trip.
The next day, we walked through the town to get the lay of the land. I had a map of the city, but I needed to see it with my own eyes.
I had a feeling this battle could turn into urban warfare. That was more likely than not.
The demon had feline characteristics, and he was going to appear right outside the town with a pack of monsters. Liogel was swift and could leap incredible distances. He would reach the city in an instant and jump the walls in one bound. Some of House Romalung’s elite soldiers were keeping watch in every direction, but there was no way to keep the demon out.
Yesterday, I’d claimed I couldn’t use Gungnir because of the fragility of Jombull’s defenses, but that assumed we were lucky enough to intercept the demon outside the city limits. If I used it within the settlement, it would annihilate everything.
“It seems like we won’t be able to limit damage to the city no matter where we fight,” Tarte lamented, looking around restlessly.
“Jombull is very prosperous. There’s nothing we can do to prevent casualties. We aren’t gods,” I responded.
“I know that, but it’s still sad.”
I patted Tarte on the head. “You’re so compassionate.”
Despite her apparent embarrassment, she leaned happily into my gesture. “That’s not true. I just don’t like the thought of people dying.”
“I have a suggestion. Since we are surveying the city’s layout, we may as well look for places that could be used to our advantage,” Nevan proposed.
“The best way to do that might be to set traps. That could definitely be effective,” I responded.
We knew the demon and his monsters were coming ahead of time, so it only made sense for us to prepare for their arrival. Given that we were going up against a demon, however, anything we prepared would need a massive amount of firepower. A trap with that amount of strength would blow up dozens of houses upon activation, and we would need to set multiple of them.
That was another strategy that necessitated sacrifices. However, there were going to be casualties regardless. Thus, I thought it best to lure the demon’s pack toward where we set the traps, then use them to keep our enemy confined within a smaller battlefield. That might help contain deaths.
“Then let’s do it,” urged Nevan.
“There are many places I want to put them, but it’ll be difficult. I can handle gathering the materials to make the traps, but placing the things is the issue. People will notice them before the demon arrives,” I said.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Let’s put the traps inside homes. I’ll throw money in the residents’ faces to buy their houses, so we can prepare as many as we want.”
No one would mess with the devices if they were inside purchased homes, so concealing them would be easy.
“Are you okay with that? It’s going to cost a lot of money,” I warned.
“Using money when you need it is what gives it value,” Nevan answered.
“Then I’ll take you up on that.”
If it increased our chances of success even a little, I was fine with relying on Nevan’s assistance.
Ultimately, we purchased sixteen houses and prepared a trap in each one. I made them so they could be activated remotely.
“That was a ridiculous display of wealth,” I said to Nevan.
Smirking, she replied, “I make a lot of money.”
Once the demon appeared, we were going to engage him outside Jombull for as long as possible. As such, there was a chance the battle might not even make it to the city. Still, that didn’t stop Nevan from buying the domiciles at nearly double their market value. Technically, there was still a chance, albeit a slim one, that Liogel wouldn’t even show.
I decided to apologize in advance. “Sorry if that turns out to be a waste of money.”
“Don’t worry about it. Do you think I didn’t notice what you were doing? All the buildings you purchased were on sites that would be easy to reuse or conduct business from. Even having bought them at near double the market value, you or I could easily recover the expense for each piece of land,” Nevan responded.
“I’m impressed you picked up on that. I looked for structures in good positions for the traps while also ensuring they’d enable us to recoup our investment. I didn’t want you to lose money over this,” I explained.
Whether Nevan thought it was or not, acquiring all those buildings was a large expenditure. As such, I wanted to think about what would become of our new properties.
“But that wasn’t all, was it? You really think of everything… If the area around each of the houses was to get flattened during the battle, the value of each spot would increase many times over. You would make quite a land shark,” commented Nevan.
“Wow, you come up with the nastiest ideas, Lugh. I can’t believe you bought those places predicting the battle would turn them into vacant land,” added Dia.
“I didn’t do that part for Nevan. I did it so I would be able to support the people who live in those areas in the case that we bring the battle to those sites.” Nevan and Dia tilted their heads in confusion, so I clarified. “If the value of the land goes up, I’ll buy it from them at a high price.”
“Oh, I understand. Those who lose their domiciles in this battle won’t struggle for money or a place to live if you buy their land from them!” exclaimed Tarte.
I nodded. No matter where we brought the fight, there would be a lot of sacrifices. Thus, I chose land that would rise in value if destroyed by the battle to give any displaced the funds to start over.
“Ah, that’s what you were doing. You care way too much for other people, Lugh. All that stress is going to make you go bald,” Dia stated.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” I gave a strained laugh. What I was doing was the ultimate hypocrisy, but it was in line with the guiding principles I’d established for myself after being reborn as Lugh Tuatha Dé.
I had no intention of dying, and I wouldn’t do anything that might lower the success of the assassination. However, I wished to do all I could to aid the citizens of Jombull within those constraints. This was the kind of thing I would never have considered before my reincarnation.
I finished setting the trap in the final house.
“…That’s the last one. Now, all we have left to do is prepare. Nevan, there’s something I need to tell you. Naoise will probably show up when we’re fighting the demon. He has given up his humanity to obtain power. Such behavior is inexcusable for a noble of Alvan.”
During the duel, Naoise had made his thirst for strength apparent, and Mina had promptly scooped him up as a plaything. She’d also told me that the demon would be too strong for me, and someone would arrive to provide help.
All of it led me to believe that Naoise would be making an appearance.
“Wow, that’s another piece of information I knew nothing about. I’ve been so worried about that idiot friend of mine.”
“What will you do if that idiot friend becomes our enemy? I’m ready to kill him if necessary.”
“So you’re saying you will spare his life if possible.”
“Do you always have to twist my words around?”
“I also want to avoid killing him if possible… That boy used to be so cute. Calling out ‘big sis, big sis’ all the time and chasing me around like a puppy. Where did he go wrong?” Nevan smiled. A hint of loneliness showed on her face. She cared about Naoise in a sibling sort of way.
That was something I hadn’t expected. Nevan seemed to only ever think of House Romalung’s future, and Naoise had nothing to offer her family.
“Anyway, we’re done here. The demon could appear at any moment, so make sure you’re ready for battle,” I instructed.
“Yes, my lord. I’ll eat and get lots of sleep!” responded Tarte.
“I’ll perform one last check on a new spell I created for this battle,” Dia announced.
Pondering for a moment, Nevan said, “Then I will think about how to handle the aftermath.”
We had done everything we could. Now it all depended on our performance in the battle.
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