People are castles, people are stone walls, people are weak points

In the emergency situation of the Earl's assassination attempt, Iris (René) was also forced to stop being Catherine's double for a moment and stand by as an adventurer in a combat stance.

It was after dark when Benedict returned to the party's quarters.

“I inquired at the Adventurers' Guild about the man we had captured, and information came to me immediately. He wasn't related to the Night Pythons, but he was a well-known assassin in his own right. He specializes in sniping with his magic item, a bow."

Benedict's expression was grim.

Although the assassination was prevented just in time, it was because they thought that the Night Pythons were finally getting serious.

Benedict's large, pawed hand rested on Iris's (René's) head.

“Thanks to Iris. If she hadn't defended him with magic on the spot, Earl-sama would be dead by now. He thanked us for that."

"No, it's really great. Iris really did a great job this time, didn't she?"

"Yes, indeed. How did you manage to protect Earl-sama so quickly?"

"...That's the kind of thing I do."

Iris (René) was a little unsure of the proper way to respond, so she tried to be smug and humble.

Iris (René) thought that she wanted to credit herself for protecting the Earl with magic that "Iris" could use properly at that moment, although she was able to notice the attack ahead of time because she has the power of emotional perception. It was really good that she didn't accidentally use «Wind Shear» or something like that.

"But... it was not the young lady who will be targeted, it's Earl-sama."

"That's right. After all, he's outside the castle."

"Yeah. I thought we had eliminated the informants in the castle, but the fact that they knew the Earl was going to... see someone means they knew he was going out, so that's where the information leaked out."

"So he's being targeted just because he left the castle?"

"Of course."

Iris (René) thought that the double was necessary because she did not know where a ninja or someone like that might sneak in even if she stayed in the castle.

But Benedict and Hugh agreed that it would be extremely difficult to assassinate a lord's family who were holed up in the castle in the first place.

"For example, ... Hugh. Do you think a 6th class Elite level Thief could infiltrate this castle and assassinate the Earl?"

“I think it is possible if they are perfectly prepared. If you know all the gaps in the security patrols, the routes of entry and exit, and the troops and their deployment..., you should be able to do it. But the first thing is the preparation. If there is no gap, even if the Night Pythons have a 6th class Elite level, I don't think they're going to throw him in the ring with the possibility of death. I don't think the Night Pythons has a spare of the that level."

"I guess so. If there's a 6th class Elite Thief in this country, an adventurer from the front page of adventurers ... a bearded guy with a fetish for ruins?"

"Well, Terra Kaine's man-woman."

"Whether that's a man or a woman, I still don't know."

"It's a guy."

"He's a man."

“How old is he?"

"I'd say he's in his 30s, at least."

"He looks like a mid-teenager..."

The "she-male" figure pulled from Iris's memory was a slender, devilishly beautiful young 'girl' in her mid-teens, if he were a human being. In reality, however, he was a middle-aged man and a skilled Thief, a rather over-the-top adventurer.

He was apparently well-known in Ciel-Terra.

"Thieves are supposed to be second only to Fighters, but when you look at it this way, there aren't that many of them at the top."

"There are three of them in Ciel-Terra, so that's enough."

"Less is more. When it comes to the 6th class Elites, the realm of great skill and talent. Effort is not enough, and a thief can't cheat with equipment any more than a fighter can.

Anyway, you would not want to spend that level of valuable human resource on retaliation against a single lord. The risk is not worth the return. If that's the case, I think they'll be prepared to just kill him and escape, not play the game when he comes out. ... He can't be holed up in a castle for the rest of his life. They will try to kill him when he comes out. It's easier."

And today, he was targeted.

In a fantasy world, there would be many ninja-like assassins using magic and magic items to infiltrate the castle, but the Earl had a magician on his side as well, and it seemed to be enough to contend against them.

It seems that the other side did not have any unorthodox skills either. This was a petty (but deadly) battle between a countryside mafia that controlled a small country and a small lord of that country.

"'But don't you think killing Earl-sama now would stop the anti-Night Pythons campaign? I think it would make sense for them to come and kill the Earl-sama even if forced to do so..."

"Haha. There ain't no need to go after Earl-sama if you want to stop the operation."

Hugh shrugged in amusement.

"Not everyone can stay holed up in a castle and be protected by knights and magicians under their command. I'd kill where it's easier to kill, if I were them."

＊ ＊ ＊

Hugh's prediction soon came true.

The Earl formed an anti-Night Pythons squad from the knights and elite soldiers under his command, and he has been engaged in a series of battles in the towns of his territory, crushing bases one after the other.

Families were attacked.

Night Pythons' assassins were probably not going to win in a head-to-head fight against the rustling forces.

But they could kill some of their family members who do not have the strength to fight. Then everyone would fear that their own family members might be the next to die.

Morale was shattered and some people deserted.

“…Already, some of them have tried to escape and leave the country with their families."

“So they've already done something about it."

Oswald was looking over the report in his office, and his face was grim.

Benedict, as usual, gave few words of advice.

No matter how motivated Oswald was, he couldn't do anything if his subordinates didn't act.

Even if he tried to fill a vacancy, many of them would be reluctant to do so if they were told that their families could be harmed if they joined the force.

If they were unable to fight, Oswald would automatically lose the battle. It was like having a noose around your neck and being slowly strangled.

"But there are also strange reports,... from the castle that a mysterious ninja rescued someone when they were in desperate straits after being attacked by a mysterious intruder..."

"…Yes?"

"A family member of one of the men on the assault unit."

Benedict looked at Oswald with a quizzical look on his face, but Oswald, who was explaining the story, seemed to have no idea what was going on either.

The story of the mysterious ninja or something like that came up when the servant's family was taken hostage and escaped, but as usual, the two of them had no idea who it was.

"We still don't know about the mysterious helper, ...... but what we do know for sure is that we have to decide the battle before any more people defect. In the last few days, we've cut them down to the bare bones. We'll have the top brass in charge of operations in the territory within the next day or two."

"Is it finally time?"

“Yes. I'd like to see you guys get involved..."

Oswald paused for a moment to think.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Just take care of me and my daughter."

"Sure thing."

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