Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 45
Town with a Chapel
As I had thought, Dino really did place surveillance here.
My master could not antagonize the assassin’s guild. Some of them couldn’t keep fighting, but Master, a dark elf, would have had to go to great lengths just to find a safe place in this land of humans. She might be able to escape, but for that, she would have to rely on the underworld again.
But I was different. As a human, I could escape anywhere and blend in with the settlement and hide.
That was why Dino had this place monitored. Not to keep me from escaping and doing my job, but to keep me as a hostage against my Master.
Dino probably didn’t count on me, a child, to begin with.
Therefore, I thought that the reason Dino allowed me to take my master’s place was to keep me, the hostage, tied up in the Assassin’s Guild.
Dino was too easy to talk to at that time. Even I would not trust a child to assassinate, no matter how much of a great sorcerer’s apprentice he was. So, I thought that Dino, who left so easily, must have left a watchful eye, but as I thought, the watchman was there.
It was difficult to find them, as they seemed to specialize in surveillance, but if I knew they were there, I could find them, as I could see magic elements by color.
Just to be safe, I created a false image of myself with an illusion to catch him off guard, and approached him with a Concealment and took him out with a single blow of the pendulum. I had expected that he was not a fighter, but I was lucky to kill him with a single blow.
I buried the equipment of the dead body I had removed in the ground, and carried the blood drained and lightened corpse far and threw it away. If left alone, the wolves would take care of it, so this was the best way to be sure.
It was time to leave this forest where I had spent five months.
In these five months, the season had turned from early summer to late autumn, and at eight years old, I have grown a little taller again, to about the average eleven-year-old child.
I was not getting any thicker or heavier, but I was getting closer to adulthood, only at a faster rate. My hair, as well as my body, had grown quite a bit, but I never shortened it except when my master had trimmed it, and I braided my longer hair and rolled it around my neck to keep it out of the way.
“See you later. Master.”
I didn’t know when I’d be back next. I’d already said goodbye to my master.
Still, I muttered one last word looking toward my master’s habitant, then I carried my luggage and started running in the direction of the simple base I had built before.
I didn’t head straight for the human settlement. Since five months had passed, I believed Grave’s organization had relaxed its surveillance, but it was better not to let my guard down just yet.
But I still had one thing left to do before leaving this noble territory.
It would soon be winter, but in the Kingdom of Cleydale to the south, it never got cold enough to snow. The season was a little harsher for camps without a fire, but if I could use my physical enhancements, my body would not be in a state of discomfort.
After two days of running through the forest using Concealment, night vision, and detection, I arrived at a simple base in the forest that already felt nostalgic.
It was more than half covered with dead leaves, but it was better than starting from scratch. I brushed away the dead leaves with a branch, replaced the rotting sticks, and burned some insecticide weed.
Meanwhile, I went to the riverside to collect clay and returned to the base to start building something.
***
I walked through the city at night with a shawl covering my face.
I checked rumors with peddlers and others outside the city to make sure I had arrived in time.
I was glad I made it in time before the season changed in earnest. My master and I had guessed that there would be a six-month grace period, but it was possible that we would be wrong.
The guy would have been stuck healing his wounds. His existence had been cut to the bone, and he must have been struggling in a state of suspended animation to stay alive while being tormented by intense hunger.
But as the air began to dry out, it might already have reached its limits.
Based on my previous experience, I had an idea of where he might be. He was sure to be in the vicinity. He would definitely attack again to regain his strength.
Under the cover of darkness, I used the [Flowing Water] to flow water into the canal near the Ceres house, and I could feel its presence and knew that it was rapidly approaching.
“I’ve come to settle the score. Water Spirit.”
[Lower level spirit of water]
[Magic Value: 135/503]
[Total Combat Power: 148/553]
[State: Madness, Weakness]
[——!!!]
I had thought that he was cut down and destroyed by Grave’s Combat Art, but spirits didn’t perish so easily. I was overjoyed that Grave did not finish it off after the strike he had dealt it before.
The water spirit that had possessed the drowned body of a bloated stray dog had no more energy to use magic, and it attacked me, manipulating the dog’s drowned body.
[—-!!!]
“[Harden]”
Using Taijutsu to duck that attack, I sent a [Harden]-sprayed projectile flying with a small sling.
[—-!??]
This time I was using a ball made of clay, about two centimeters long. I had learned from the last battle that I only needed to reduce the water spirit’s magical power, so I had stopped worrying about weapons.
I evaded the water spirit’s attacks, while accurately hitting it with bullets to chip away at its existence.
Its movement was slow. I knew I wanted to finish it off with my own hands at that time.
But I couldn’t leave the water spirit alone and put that sister and brother in danger. Besides, I had my own reasons for defeating it with my own hands.
I had said I didn’t care about weapons, but I still made one small knife out of hardened clay.
Combat skills would grow greatly in a battle where you risk your life. It didn’t get any better after the last five months of training and defeating giant spiders, but…
“Water Spirit, let your life be my food.”
I put away his sling and met the water spirit head-on with a clay knife in my right hand.
I had seen this technique many times before.
I saw Viro use it to defeat a bandit.
I had also seen a Female Thief use it, and I was directly hit by her attack.
I had put my magical power into my eyes as if to burn that technique into my soul, and without being cowed by the water spirit that was approaching me head-on, I launched it, believing that I’d surely be able to use it.
“–[Double Edge]–“
Short Sword Technique Level 2’s Combat Art [Double Edge] was activated, shattering the fangs of the corpse used by the spirit and piercing through its brow.
[—-!!!!!]
The magic of Combat Art shattered the water spirit’s protection, and the [Harden] magic of the earth attribute penetrated its core, causing a large amount of water to overflow from the drowned body of the stray dog, which was screaming a voiceless doom and spreading its magic.
[Aria(Alicia)] [Race: Human ??] [Rank 2]
[Magic: 112/165] 5Up [Strength: 97/120] 15Up
[Strength: 6(7.2)] 1Up [Endurance: 6(7.2)] [Agility: 8(9.6)] 1Up [Dexterity: 7]
[Short Sword Technique Lv.2] 1Up [Taijutsu Lv.2] [Throwing Lv.2] [Manipulation Lv.1]
[Light Magic Lv.2] [Dark Magic Lv.2] [Non-Attribute Magic Lv.2]
[Life Magic x 6] [Magic Control Lv.2] [Intimidate Lv.2]
[Concealment Lv.2] [Night Vision Lv.2] [Detection Lv.2] [Poison Resistance Lv.1]
[Simple Appraisal] [Total Combat Power: 148
[Total Combat Power: 148 (With Physical Enhancements: 166)] 20Up
After defeating the water spirit, I obtained the [Short Sword Technique] skill Level 2.
The Level 2 Short Sword Technique was essential for my future battles, and I needed to acquire it without waiting for my body to grow, but I could not improve against ordinary opponents.
That was why I forced myself to raise Short Sword Technique to Level 2 by [Killing] a special being called a spirit and by releasing Combat Art with desperate resolve.
It was not possible to get Level 2 melee skill at the age of 10 or younger, but I finally made it.
However, I couldn’t stay in the afterglow forever. Even though we were a little farther away from the house, I could hear people’s voices from the Ceres family because of the magic and Combat Art I used.
I immediately used Concealment and hid myself in the dark night.
A little ahead of my gaze, I noticed that the pair, sister and brother, anxiously peeking out from the terrace on the second floor of the Ceres family’s mansion.
Even though I knew they were okay, I was glad to see that they were safe.
I looked back one more time before I left, no longer worried about the Ceres family’s two siblings, but before I left I noticed that Rosie’s mouth seemed to say [Aria].
***
In the middle of the night, I left the city of Baron Ceres and headed to my next destination.
I decided not to pass through the town roads. Avoiding the bright hours as much as possible, I traveled at night, following the road I took from Dandol, and in about ten days I arrived at Count Hadel’s territory, which was a beautiful place, and I had been raised there for about ten years.
There were two large towns in Count Hadel’s domain: one was a thriving commercial town where Count Hadel lived, and the other was a town of many craftsmen with a thriving industry.
Important facilities such as the Adventurers’ Guild and the Commerce Guild were in the city where the Count lived, but I had business in the other city where the artisans lived.
The city was neatly divided into two parts: the southern part, where the residential areas where the craftsmen lived, and the northern part, where the industrial area was located. The morning and evening were said to be very busy because of the large movement of craftsmen, but during the daytime, the atmosphere was surprisingly calm.
The chapel, the largest of its kind in the northern border district, was located on the border between the residential and industrial districts, and stood tall among the low buildings of the city, giving it a certain unique appearance.
The chapel was my destination, the home of the North Frontier District branch of the Guild of Assassins.
From the outside, I almost doubted that it was really related to the Assassins’ Guild, but it matched the note given to me by Dino and what I had been told by my master.
The master had told me the location directly, but Dino’s note did not give a direct location, but rather how to contact the guides.
Concealment was not often used in the city, even if you hide your face with a shawl. Using Concealment, in a situation where I didn’t know where people from any organization were, was like walking around while giving away my identity.
I spent a day looking around the city, later the next day I went to an area that sold groceries and household goods, and tossed a silver coin to a beggar in the alley behind the area.
“Please show me the way.”
“…Where to?”
The beggar caught the silver coin with one hand, which he tossed at considerable speed, and returned it with a slight raise of his dirty one eyebrow.
“…to the grave.”
“…follow me.”
The beggar stood up soundlessly and started to lead the way, and I followed a few steps away.
This beggar was a [guide] for the assassins’ guild. He was not just a guide, but probably also a watcher of this area, with a fighting strength of nearly 200.
“I’ve heard about you. You really are a child, huh?”
“…You’re not going to check?”
“We’ll be caught by the lords of the land, you know. Even if you were an agent of another domain, you would be the one on the executioner’s block.”
“I see.”
The lords were also involved.
“That’s it. From here on out, you’re on your own. It’s 88-6.”
The place was a huge catacomb down a staircase beside the chapel.
We made our way through the darkness, lit only by a few candles, entered a stone hut marked 88, and opened coffin number six, revealing a staircase that led further underground.
Down from there, through a narrow passageway that made it hard to breathe, there was an open space, and a young woman in a strange black dress stood there as she grinned with bright red lips.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Dark Elf’s apprentice.”
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