Me and Aena immediately went into action.
　I went towards one of the assassins, while Aena went towards the other one. Keeping a distance of not too far from Aena, I faced the assassin.
　The assassin, perhaps seeing my movement, tries to move backwards - of course, I don't pursue him too deeply.

(Now, as for you, Aena, ......)

　On the other side - Aena is also not too far away from me, as planned. With our backs to the carriage, we are both facing the assassin.
　With no one by Aena's side, ...... I check my surroundings.
　There are other assassins moving among the fleeing people - but they are already leaving the carriage.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but it's a good idea.

(I can still feel the bloodshed from all sides. I don't know about this.

　The assassin I'm facing is watching me as if he's observing my movements.
　There is no significant movement. On the contrary, the assassin shows almost no movement. He is holding a dagger in his right hand.

"Is he coming?
"......

　The assassin does not respond to my words. I guess his purpose is to attract me.
　A moment later, a loud noise echoes from behind me.

"Haha, you can't kill me just by running away!

　You'll be able to't kill me just by running away!" Such a voice also reached my ears. ...... Aena must have launched a magical attack.
　At the same time, there was movement in the area.
　It's not like she's running away, but she's coming towards us. It was the assassins who had begun to target Aena, who was acting alone.
　I'll move along with them.

"First one--

　I leap backwards and jump onto the carriage.
　The closer I get to my Invisible, the more deadly it becomes.
　But if you just want to subdue your opponent, the distance is far enough.
　With a whoosh of wind, I unleash my sword at the assassin's legs.
　It doesn't matter if you are in the crowd.
　As long as there is a small gap, my wind blade will reach there.

"Aah!

　The voice of the assassin who was hit by my attack echoed.
　There were a few more who showed signs of being upset by the voice.

"The second--third.

　At the right moment, I unleash a wind blade at the two assassins.
　At about the same time, two of the shadows fell.
　This is the third assassin I've subdued. ...... Compared to the previous two assassins, they don't seem to notice my attack and try to avoid it.
　It seems that the only ones with different abilities are the assassins in front of me and Aena.

"......
()　He's backing off slightly--he's trying to escape.

　At this point, the assassin finally makes a show of running away. He must have realized that he could not kill Aena at this moment.
　But he can't chase the assassin here.
　In the background, Aena is still fighting.
　I didn't get a good look at Aena fighting, but she looked rough but she was checking her surroundings carefully.
　She was probably aware of the assassin's movements.
　But before she could, I overpowered the assassin - or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the plan worked.
　Aena's single action had allowed her to catch several assassins.

"--

　The assassin in front of me jumped backwards.
　The assassin in front of me jumped backwards. He must have seen the wind blade earlier and understood my distance to some extent.
　I can still chase him at this distance, but that's not what I'm here to do.

Sorry. Three is enough for now.

　Instead of chasing the assassin in front of me, I turned back to Aena in the rear.
　A wall of water has been built around Aena, and she is keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings.
　The assassin Aena was facing was also keeping his position close to her.
　There was no guarantee that he would be able to kill Aena even if he went into battle.

(The bold but also cautious ...... is still a bit tricky.

　The fact that her fighting style is somewhat similar to Aria's has always been a concern of mine.
　If possible, I would like to capture this one. .......

You keep running away from me. ....... Are you willing to fight me?

　Aena stops her attack and asks the assassin.
　The people around you follow the knight's lead and leave, and the three assassins I've just subdued have already been captured by the knight guarding them.
　For the time being, it worked, thanks to Aena's strategy of staying close to me.

"Please surrender. Surrender, and you won't need to be injured.
"...... Injured, huh? You only captured those around you because you wanted information?

　For the first time, the assassin opened his mouth.
　It was the voice of a young man, calm even in this situation.
　I know he's a young man, but he's a very capable one - I can't see his face or skin, but at least he doesn't seem to be in a hurry.
　He also seemed to know that the other assassin behind me had already fled the scene.

I don't have to answer. If you're not going to surrender--


"Iris Reinfell. And Mercier Altina, right?
"Yes!

　The assassin interrupted me and said two names.
　I didn't expect to hear those names from the assassin.

(Only a few people know that Iris is by Aena's side. ......)

　I started to think about it - but no answer came out right away.
　In any case, the fact that the assassin mentioned their names at least warns me that he is going to do something against Iris and Mercier.
　In fact, there is no sign that Iris and Mercier are coming back to us yet.
　Aena's expression also turns grim as she hears Mercier's name.

I'm not sure what you've done to Mercier.
I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.

　With that, the assassin runs backwards.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. ...... It's not as if I could catch up with him if I went after him with all my might.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"Master Aena!
The mission is over. Let's go find Iris and Mercier!
I know.
(...... I'm sure Iris is safe.)

　But I'm still worried about Iris.
　I signaled to the other knights in the guard. If Iris and Mercier come back, please let us know.
　I was able to protect Aena, but it didn't seem like the situation was going to be safe yet.