The three of us walked side-by-side down a dark alley to reach our target’s hideout.
“How long did you know I was there, Ms. Lilia?” I asked.
“From the start,” she replied.
“From the start…” I muttered. Then she probably noticed while we were still in the Grand Library, standing around in the hallway. “How did you notice? I was using Stealth.”
Stealth is a support skill that hides you from other’s eyes. In English, “stealth” is supposed to mean something like “to be covert”, but even my footsteps were totally erased. Since I just totally disappeared, Invisibility might have been a better name.
“It was cute and all, Haru, but I could tell without even looking at you,” Lilia replied.
“Did I leave any signs?” I asked.
“She can sense magic radiating from people’s bodies,” Sonia said. “Ah, you should know most people can’t detect that. Master can because she’s out-of-the-ordinary.”
“Ah, I see our enemies,” Lilia said.
In front of us are three guards standing in front of a door. They do not notice us all as all because of my Stealth and Lilia’s Silence making us completely undetectable.
“What do we do?” I ask. “Do we knock them out?”
“Hmm, right,” Lilia hummed. “Sonia, if you please?”
“Got it,” Sonia said before she tiptoed up to them. When I thought she just stopped in front of them, the three guards were down before I knew it.
“So-Sonia is so strong, isn’t she…?” I whispered.
“That’s because I trained her myself!” Lilia beams.
“I see…” I muttered. I wondered just how strong Lilia truly was.
“Right, let’s get started,” Sonia said as she opened the door and went inside.
I and Lilia follow, find more than a dozen goons inside, but all of them are completely unaware of us. It seems even opening a door was affected by Silence.
“Let’s get this over with before it becomes a mess,” Sonia said.
“My, my, so impatient, Sonia~!” Lilia hummed.
“You trained me to be like this, didn’t you?” Sonia replied.
We head to the back of the hideout as they chat. As I listen in, I don’t really hear any nervousness or anxiety, it feels like murder is just a light matter to them. But it should be a heavy thing to have on your conscience…
“Haru, are you okay?” Sonia asks as she stops and looks me in my face. “If you’re scared, you can stay behind, alright?”
My anxiety was showing on my face again. I shook my head and said, “I’m okay. You did say this was a test to get used to this world…”
“Don’t overdo it, alright?” Sonia said before she headed up the stairs.
According to Lilia’s intel collection, our target is on the second floor. I already thought she looked like a ninja in that outfit, but now that I know she does the behind-the-scenes work, too, I’m convinced she really is one.
“You know, it’s nice to have you here with us for tonight, Haru~,” Lilia hums. “I usually have to do this alone.”
“Don’t you work together with Sonia?” I asked.
“Sonia was just back-up for this time,” Lilia said. “Though I suppose now that she’s got you, she doesn’t really need me anymore, hmm~?”
For some reason, I felt relieved Sonia wasn’t Lilia’s sidekick like I thought.
“This is his room,” Lilia said as she tried to open the door. “Let’s take him out and go home early. I’m feeling sleepy.”
Suddenly, I felt something was off. “Excuse me for in-interrupting…” I stammered.
Lilia opened the door. Then–
“Lightning Blast!”
“Shield!”
There’s a flash then a giant explosion.
All three of us are safe because of the shield, but the roof’s been blown off.
I look back to the room and found several mages, a dozen men and women standing around with iron swords and long staves, then our target standing at the very back with a hammer and an evil smile.
“Ho-hoo, this is exactly the kind of situation I was trying to prevent…” hums the Boss, a giant, muscular mountain of a man.
“Hey, this ambush is a terrible joke, isn’t it?” Lilia growled as she pulled out the dagger from her waist.
Several of the minions tremble, intimidated. Even I’m shaken, and I’m on her side.
Sonia readies her own sword.
“Haste! Reinforce!” I say, magic circles forming in my hands before I pressed them into Lilia and Sonia respectively.
Why these two buffs for them specifically? Online Gamer’s Intuition. In my experiences, jobs that use daggers emphasize speed and agility; similarly, swordsmen need strength to boost their attack power.
“Are you small fry ready?” the Boss asked. “I’ve been prepared for a while now, so I hope you don’t let me down, alright?”
“That’s my line,” Lilia said.
“Tch, then let’s go!” the Boss yelled, beginning the battle.
In an instant, Sonia and Lilia rushed into striking range.
Suddenly, three magic shields blocked them.
“Don’t think so!” the Boss yelled as he swung his hammer down on Lilia.
He missed her by a thread and smashed the floor instead.
In an instant, it collapsed—the explosion earlier hadn’t just damaged the roof.
“Woah, hey–!”
The floor gave way underneath everyone, we all crashed to the ground floor. The enemies’ shields collapsed, they all looked around at the wreckage of their hideout with confusion, with the exception for the Boss. We’re all completely open to attack from any angle now.
“Shield, Shield!” I cried, putting them in front of Sonia and Lilia.
The Boss saw and smiled. “Just what I was waiting for,” he said as he pulled a black something from his waist; by the time I realized it was a pistol, it was already too late.
“Die!”
A gunshot rings out.
ruff Translations 