Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Hayato
“Goddamned brat!”
A man swung his sword down before my very eyes. But I focused my attention on the phantom behind him instead.
My perspective switched.
I swapped places with my phantom, the man from before was now exposing his back in front of me as he only managed to cut the phantom where I used to be.
“Raaah!”
I leapt up like a spring and slammed my heel into the side of his head, knocking him out instantly.
I then reached into my waist pouch for my paper dolls in order to replenish my phantoms…
There was nothing inside.
“…Shit!”
Those paper dolls were catalysts made from expensive paper and ink, so I didn’t bring enough of them, dammit!
Someone came slashing at me from behind, but I dove under him and slammed my elbow into his stomach.
“Ack! Accursed brat!”
For a moment, I grunted and nearly collapsed from the recoil, but I quickly recovered and hurriedly avoided the sword that was now swinging at me again.
“Not so fast now, eh?!”
“Just shut up already!”
While cursing at him, I pulled out a stick shuriken from my scarf and threw it along with a talisman taken from my pocket.
“’Hono-Ikazuchi’!”
The shuriken struck the man’s armor, sending spark flying, then…
“Gyaaaaaaah?! It burns!!”
He rolled around in a pillar of fire and the unpleasant smell of burning hair and skin.
“What the hell are you doing?! He’s just a single brat!”
“Surround him, quickly!”
The band of thugs regrouped and started to swarm around me. A quick look at them showed that they’d sealed off all the openings that I could use to escape.
Despite their crude appearance and demeanor, this was a reminder that they were real-deal mercenaries who were more disciplined than I had expected.
As the enemies closed in all at once, my consciousness flew to the last of my phantoms that was holding up the rear… While doing so, I activated the mechanism engraved in the paper doll that served as the phantom’s core.
“’Return to Dust!’”
The men stabbed the phantom… The next moment, with a flash of light, the phantom burst into flames and spewed shock, engulfing everyone in its vicinity. The surrounding area was enveloped in a cloud of dust and smoke that took away visibility.
Good, now I can use the dust cloud to escape… that’s what I thought.
“Got you at last, brat!”
“Gah?!”
A kick flew at me from the side of the road, and I was helplessly blown away.
My light body bounced a few times on the ground from the kick of the large man, and finally stopped when my back collided with a tree on the side of the road.
“…(coughs, hacks)”
As I coughed heavily from the impact, a man whose face was flushed red with rage grabbed me by the collar and hung me in midair.
But grabbing me by the clothes is a bad move, you know?
Stifling the pain of being kicked, I activated the seal hidden in my clothes with my finger.
“Don’t even think you’ll get any mercy because you’re a kid… Woah?!”
In front of his eyes, my outer robes exploded, and he unintentionally let go of me.
Crouching at his feet, I used the skill that I was thinking about.
Assassin’s unique skill, “Cloak”.
It could be used even in combat if my opponent was turning his attention away for any reason. While being unseen, I went behind the man who was confused by my sudden disappearance…
A process repeated countless times, to the point I could do it almost unconsciously.
“Huh? Where are you, brat…”
Out of fear, I involuntarily released the skill that had been sealed during the fight until now, as my instincts from the game days took over…
I used “Assassinate” on the man’s defenseless back.
It was already too late when I realized it, and from a low stance, I thrust my dagger into the man’s side, sliced through his spine, and passed between his shoulder and neck.
The trajectory of the blade, illuminated azure by the moonlight, drew a half-moon, and a large amount of blood danced in the darkness before turning into a rain of blood.
“…?!”
The man collapsed, his final expression being that of confusion, splattering fresh blood and entrails everywhere.
“Ah… Ahhh…”
My hands trembled at the feel of the sticky blood on my cheeks.
I messed up.
I was trying to avoid taking as much life as possible, but I messed up!
“Urk! (vomits)”
The feeling of a human body cut open that lingered in my hands, and the smell of blood and guts that filled the air, made me dump the contents of my stomach on the spot.
Coughing, I wiped my mouth and looked up, only to find that I was already surrounded by the dead man’s comrades.
I guess this is the end for a half-baked Assassin like me.
I’d always known something like this is going to happen as long as I can’t wrap my mind up around the idea of taking someone’s life.
“Nee-chan, did you manage to escape…?”
I mumbled a few words and gazed blankly at the blade that was being swung down.
Am I going to die too…?
“Like I’d let you!”
There was a sound of blades clashing.
“…Reiji-niichan?”
“Sorry, I’m late!”
Reiji-niichan suddenly appeared, holding the Princess in his arm.
Was he seriously going to fight while carrying another person like that?
In the blink of an eye, he took out all the remaining thugs around us.
Wow, he’s so strong and badass…
It’s not just because of his frontliner class. It’s not even a difference in experience.
That Nii-chan simply cared that much about the Princess, and that’s why he’s willing to go in without hesitation for her sake.
So this is the difference between a half-baked like me and a serious combatant. I knew it. From the beginning. I knew I was no match for him.
But… can I become badass like him someday?
“…Hayato-kun!”
“Nee-chan?!”
Nee-chan ran up to me the moment our eyes met… When I came to, I found myself in a hug. My tired body was softly enveloped in a good smell that seems to make the fatigue melt away.
“Oh no, you’re injured all over… Didn’t you promise me to run away when you’re in danger, dummy?!”
It just felt too nice… if only she wasn’t holding me so tightly that I’m having a hard time breathing… Hold on a second. What are those soft things burying my face that’s blocking my breathing…?
“…Waaaaaaah?!”
The moment I realized the situation, I pulled myself away from Nee-chan in a panic.
My face was hot, as if all the blood in my body had gathered in it.
First the Princess, and now Nee-chan, why do you guys have to hug a guy with all your might like that?! Are you idiots?!
Oh, crap, I think I’m going to faint…
“…Hayato-kun…?! Hayato-kun…!”
Dammit, I’m so uncool…
Reiji
Man, he really fainted.
I’d been keeping an eye on those two, so I knew what’s going on.
“Hayato-kun?! Can you hear me, Hayato-kun?!”
The unconscious Hayato was being shaken by the tearful Aini-san, who was utterly confused by what happened.
Well, yeah.
I painfully admit that I’d faint too if I were in his shoes.
“…Ah, that was certainly an unhealthy dose for such a young boy. Don’t worry, Aini-san, he’ll get better after waking up.”
“I-I see, that’s good to hear…”
Truth be told, it’s every man’s dream to bury his face and suffocate in those melons at least once in his life. I don’t have the words to express it, but frankly, I envy you, Hayato.
But such a powerful surprise attack must be too much for you to handle. Namusan.
In any case, Aini-san seemed to care about Hayato more than the boy himself was aware.
I couldn’t imagine the distraught look on Aini-san’s face, who seemed so worried earlier, from her normal demeanor.
In any case…
“Well then…”
There’s still some leftover trash that needs cleaning.
Sitting on his butt in the mud was the pig mayor, along with another man in a foreign outfit.
“W-Wait! Damn you, how dare you run away without me?!”
The foreign man turned tail and ran into the forest when he saw me approaching with my sword at the ready.
In panic, the pig bastard staggered to his feet and desperately chased after the foreign man.
Before I could break into a run and chase after them myself, I found someone already there waiting for them.
He was wearing a green surcoat with the hood tightly pulled down, and probably chainmail underneath. Like a knight from a Western movie if you ask me.
When I saw his shadow flickering, the next moment, it was already behind the fleeing man. Then the sound of a sword being sheathed echoed through the forest… Wait what?! When did he pull his sword out in the first place?!
Immediately after, the man who was supposed to be running away rapidly slowed down and fell to the ground, unmoving, after two or three steps. Then I realized the frontal side of his head was already cut off from his body and fell near the knightly man.
“…Holy shit… Is this guy for real…?”
Cold sweat ran down my back.
I couldn’t see anything. At all. Not even at the moment he drew his sword.
If I were still at the peak of my strength when my secondary class was maxed out just before the reincarnation, it could be possible to me to see what happened. But the current me was incapable of doing that.
…Is he equal, or even stronger than Captain Walter?
“E-Eek!”
The mayor slumped over when his “companion” was easily cut down.
Behind a knightly person, a few more people showed up. I could tell by the way they behave that they were all highly trained soldiers.
All of them wore the same crest on their clothing.
Judging from said crest, it seemed that my assistance was no longer needed, so I withdrew my sword and shifted my attention to the sleeping Iris in my arm.
“…Mayor of Diamant Valley, Jorgen-dono.”
The knightly man, who seemed to be the leader, opened his mouth to speak. His voice was slightly hoarse, suggesting that he was quite elderly, but still powerful, nonetheless.
“You’re charged with trading contraband goods and slaves, unjust tax collection, and many others…”
The air around him seemed to get colder as he listed the mayor’s various crimes.
“In this particular case, you’ve also attracted foreign threats… and severely humiliated a member of this country’s royalty. If you resist arrest, you’ll be executed on the spot, but if you submit, you’ll be guaranteed a chance to explain in court… but I think you’ll never see the light of day again as you spend the rest of your life behind bars.”
“R-Royalty?! H-How… No, I was tricked! They fooled me into doing that! It wasn’t my fault!”
The elderly knight sighed deeply.
“Whatever the truth is, it no longer matters. You’ve lost the right to excuse yourself the moment you laid your hand on such a sacred and inviolable being. Men, take him away!”
The pig mayor was then dragged away screaming by the elderly knight’s companions… Oh shit, I still have to get rid of the collar on Iris’ neck!
“Hold on a second! Search his body, he must have the key!”
I called out to the knights while pointing at the collar.
The moment they saw it, I felt a tremendous killing intent emanating from every single one of them, but I’m going to pretend I didn’t notice…
When they were done searching the pig mayor’s body, he was already unconscious and foaming at his mouth. As expected, he was hiding a small key on his body.
Finally… Aini-san told me it was a pretty nasty thing, so the sooner we get rid of it, the better.
“Please excuse me…”
The elderly knight, representing everyone, reverently touched Iris’ collar with utmost care, gently inserted the key and snapped it into place.
I breathed a sigh of relief when the collar finally came off with a clatter.
“Well then…”
He took his hood off and kneeled to me… no, to the sleeping Iris in my arm. The knights standing behind him did the same.
I was taken aback by the sudden occurrence, but when I saw the face of the elderly knight, everything clicked into place.
I know this old man.
No, it’s more like every single player who belonged to Nordglacier in the game days knew about him.
“You’re… the former Commander of Nordglacier Knight Order… Ashley Rolandia…?!”
Basically, he was supposed to be in the royal capital. What was he doing all the way out here?
Long story short, when Iris was selected to become a semi-official character in the game, he was a major supporting NPC during the event that followed.
He was also the father of Count Roland… whose territory was our next destination.
It’s said that when his son took up his current position, he stepped down himself, for fear of power concentrating in a single family, and since then he had been working as an advisor.
He was the best magic swordsman in this kingdom, and unlike me, who only had the class title back in the game to my name…
…That old man’s a bona-fide Sword Saint.
APM - Translation 