"Ugh..."

Evan let out a groan.

However, someone else appeared more anxious.

"Why can't you finish him off faster? Just kill him quickly!"

Garwel shouted at those around him, stomping his foot in frustration.

"I should have brought stronger guys..."

A girl with sleepy eyes spoke lazily.

Beside her stood Clay, an intermediate earth elemental. It was Serina, the daughter of the Chief Elementalist.

Despite their outnumbered position, Serina and Evan managed to fend off all the assassins' attacks.

Yet, Evan's stamina was becoming an issue.

He was nearing his limit in using magic.

"Finish him off swiftly!"

Garwel stomped his foot and shouted again, but the composed assassins around him didn't falter.

"What's the plan, Miss Yeniel?"

"If we keep this up, it will turn into a battle of attrition. If we rush them, we risk losing a fight we could win."

The assassins trusted Yeniel more than Garwel's words.

Despite her youth, they had faith in her due to her extensive experience.

"Yeniel! End this swiftly!"

Yeniel ignored Garwel's shouts from behind.

That guy knew nothing.

He was an ignorant young master who had no understanding of battle.

Yeniel felt her annoyance growing.

She wanted to silence him and then focus on the fight, but she couldn't.

The Handrei family, to which Garwel belonged, played the role of financial backer for the Rebels.

She couldn't simply dismiss the son of such a supporter.

Although Garwel wasn't part of the original plan to assassinate Princess Rie, he insisted on participating.

Regardless, since Andrei would be directly responsible for the assassination, Yeniel thought there wouldn't be any issues.

Yeniel sighed and gave orders to those around her.

"For now, let's continue wearing them down like this. Exploit our numerical advantage."

"Understood."

The assassins smoothly moved, following Yeniel's command.

Yeniel found herself in a rather challenging situation.

"I should have just ignored them and moved on..."

The situation was dragging on for too long.

But there was no chance to end it.

If they rushed in as Garwel suggested, they could be wiped out. Yeniel couldn't make such a reckless decision.

Ignoring Evan and Serina from the start would have been the correct choice.

This damn Garwel messed up the plan by deciding to kill those two.

Yeniel observed the situation, and her eyes met Evan's.

Evan let out a tired exhale, glancing at his own condition.

"......"

It was the most logical judgment to make at that moment.

Targeting Evan was the right move.

Evan was stronger than Serina.

However, he was worn out and injured from shielding Serina during the initial ambush.

This was the moment.

It was common sense to strike when the strong one was fatigued.

But it was a challenging decision to make.

Whether it was due to the brief moment they had, or some other reason...

It was still a decision they had to make to survive.

"Everyone..."

Just as Yeniel gathered her determination,

"Wind Cutter."

"Ugh!"

"What the? Argh!"

Blades of wind soared from the bushes, and a man charged into the midst of the battle.

A man who swung his sword and struck down the assassins.

Behind him, a woman with brown hair wielded magic.

"Luna Railer and Locke Lucarion, huh."

Yeniel clenched her teeth at the sight of them.

How did they end up here?

Aren't those two part of Rudy Astria's team?

Moreover, how did they know Evan was under attack?

Yeniel quickly wracked her brain, but she couldn't make sense of the situation.

"What...who are those guys!"

Garwel stumbled back in astonishment upon seeing the duo.

"Huff!"

"Ugh!"

"Clay, assist them."

As Locke took the lead and swept away the assassins, Serina and Evan also joined in to support him.

The assassins were caught off guard.

Yeniel observed for a few seconds and swiftly made a decision.

"Retreat!"

Yeniel called out and leaped onto a tree.

As she attempted to flee, a shout reached her ears.

"What? Who says?!"

It was Garwel.

Garwel grumbled and argued against Yeniel's command.

"Kill them all!! I thought you guys were exceptional, how can you be struggling against these weaklings?"

Yeniel felt a throbbing headache at Garwel's words.

Even among the exceptional, there are hierarchies.

The students of Liberion Academy are not just ordinarily exceptional.

It's a place where only the most outstanding individuals in the empire are gathered.

Even if they're assassins, they are exceptional only among ordinary people.

It was obvious that they would be no match.

"We must retreat."

Yeniel told the angered Garwel.

However, Garwel seemed unwilling to heed Yeniel's words.

"I suppose I have to step in."

Garwel confidently stepped forward.

"These guys are just... Huh?"

As Garwel advanced, Locke dashed toward him with incredible speed.

The assassins had formed a protective ring around Garwel, but his advance had left an opening.

"Huff!"

"Ugh!"

With his swift speed, Locke struck Garwel's face with his fist.

Garwel was knocked down without even a chance to react.

"Uh...."

Seeing this, Yeniel felt a throbbing pain in her head.

That useless brat.

He was of no help at all.

First, they needed to rescue Garwel.

Even though he may be utterly useless, saving him took priority.

"Everyone, save Garw-."

Gulp!

As Yeniel was about to speak, she heard the sound of paper tearing below.

Yeniel immediately recognized the sound.

In this situation, there was only one reason why the sound of paper tearing would be heard.

The sound of a scroll being torn.

"Haah...."

Yeniel sighed.

It was a sigh of resignation.

Then, from where the tearing sound originated, green tendrils spread out.

The tendrils extended, ensnaring each of the scattered assassins one by one.

"Don't move."

Standing where the magic from the torn scroll was activated was Luna, her eyes glaring fiercely.

All the assassins attacking us were successfully subdued by Astina.

Soon after, others arrived and bound the assassins, taking them to the center of the forest.

"Sigh..."

Rie and I sat near the central building, utterly drained. Leaning against a tree, we were too exhausted to exchange a single word.

Thankfully, it all worked out.

It was a relief.

Now, if only Locke and Luna returned safely, everything would be resolved.

With Evan and Serina there, I honestly didn't think there would be any issues.

Moreover, we had coordinated with Astina in advance, ensuring the safe return of the others as well.

"Hoo..."

I observed the break of dawn in the distance.

As the sun began to rise, and with no sounds of commotion, it seemed that the situation had somewhat stabilized.

While gazing at the emerging sunlight, Rie spoke up.

"Why didn't you leave me behind?"

"Huh?"

I looked at Rie, puzzled by her sudden question.

"You should have left me behind, dummy. If you had known Astina was nearby, you should have gone alone to fetch her. Both of us could have died. You weren't acting rationally."

Rie spoke to me matter-of-factly.

I couldn't argue with her logic.

If I had rushed alone to bring Astina, at least one of us would have undoubtedly survived.

If things went well, there was a chance that both of us could have made it out alive.

However, I had my reasons for the choices I made.

If I had brought Astina and faced the assassins head-on, there was a chance we would have lost.

By provoking them and leading them to the predetermined location, I allowed Astina to launch a surprise attack successfully, resulting in our victory.

From that perspective, I thought it was a reasonable decision.

As I pondered on that, Rie spoke quietly.

"Thank you..."

"Huh?"

"Thank you."

Rie looked at me with a faint smile.

"You could have abandoned me. If I were in your position, I might have left you behind and fled. Even though we're allies, I believe that my own life is the most important."

She calmly expressed her sentiments.

It was a typical Rie-like statement.

Rie was a calculative and rational individual.

"If our positions were reversed in the same situation, I would have tried to leave you behind and run."

Rie rose from her seat and stood before me.

"But if my life isn't in danger, I would have done everything I can to assist you."

The rising sun cast a radiant glow on Rie, enveloping her figure in an orange hue.

Her smile was as fresh as the morning dew, pure and untainted.

"You deceitful, filthy nobles!!!!"

Suddenly, a loud noise reverberated in the distance.

"...What?"

Upon hearing that, Rie returned to her usual self.

The atmosphere had been somewhat emotional, but it was ruined by that strange outburst.

Turning our gaze in that direction, we saw Andrei, bound and screaming.

Astina stood before him, her expression filled with disdain as she observed Andrei.

Rie and I approached them.

As soon as he caught sight of us, Andrei clenched his teeth.

"Ah, the offspring of those who exploit the Empire have arrived."

Exploit the Empire?

Perhaps that's one way to describe the Astria family.

But Rie...

Referring to the daughter of the Emperor as an exploiter of the Empire? I couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity.

"You two wouldn't understand...... The suffering of the common people. If you relinquished even a fraction of your privileges, hundreds, no, thousands of commoners could live in prosperity. But what do you do?"

Andrei spat out his words like a madman.

"How unfortunate! We should have eliminated all of you. Only then would the commoners have found happiness......!"

He continued his rant.

"Someday, your kind will crumble before us. We, who bear the weight of a noble cause, will one day overthrow you!"

Well...

To some extent, I agree that nobles exploit the common people.

It's the nature of this world.

But what?

Do we have to die for the commoners to be happy?

Rather than assassinating corrupt nobles, he's attempting to kill students attending the Academy, all while claiming it's for the sake of the commoners?

There was no reason to listen to such nonsense.

"Rie, we don't need to listen. Let's go--"

As I attempted to tell Rie to leave, I glanced back.

Rie held a stone in her hand.

"Huh?"

Rie lightly pushed me aside with her hand and swung the stone as it was.

Thwack!!!

"Ack!!!"

The stone struck Andrei's head precisely, causing blood to gush out.

"Hurgh......"

The onlookers gasped at the sight.

Rie paid no heed to their reactions.

"Trying to justify your attempted assassination? You murderous bastard."

Despite her discerning eyes, Rie didn't conceal her nature and acted without hesitation.

"Motive? Justice? You're nothing more than a killer. No, not even that. You haven't taken anyone's life, so you're merely a lowly bug incapable of reaching the status of a murderer. You worthless bug."

She attempted to strike Andrei once again with another stone in her hand.

Immediately, Astina grabbed hold of Rie.

"Hey...."

"Let go! Someone like him deserves to be hit!"

Rie struggled while being restrained by Astina.

Andrei, a skilled knight, possessed a sturdy physique. He wouldn't die even if he were hit again.

He was still alive after taking Astina's attack, after all.

However, we need to intervene for Rie's image.

"Let me go!!"

"Rie, calm down...."

Astina, in an attempt to soothe Rie, led her away.

There might be some damage to Rie's image, but it was a somewhat gratifying act.

After a brief moment, individuals emerged from a distance, returning with several tied-up assassins.

"Rudy!"

Among them, Luna waved her hand at me.

So, Luna's group succeeded as well?

I smiled and waved back at Luna, my heart filled with joy.

***

1/4 Enjoy the chappy!