By the time I arrived, the battle was already over.
　Fortunately, both Iris and Mercier were not seriously injured, and I was able to confirm that they were safe.
The assassins seemed to have come for Iris and Mercier, but they escaped before we could get to them--or perhaps that was part of their calculation.
　If Aena and I had continued to pursue one of them, we might have been able to capture him, but at least as things stand now, the enemy hasn't lost a single skilled player.

In addition to the two who came to us, there are two who are capable of escaping from Iris and Mercier - a total of four people.

　I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think it's a good idea.
　In any case, she basically tries to fight alone, and Aena admits that she can do so.
　The assassins he captured were probably just a bunch of lizards or lizards with tails.
　You may not get much useful information.

(Did they intend to keep us close until the last minute to check our strength? Well, as it turned out, we were able to ascertain their strength as well.)

　There is also a possibility that they will send more troops. We needed to be more vigilant.

(Now, the problem is ......)

　Even after I met up with her, I headed for Iris, who was looking off into the distance with a somewhat unhappy expression on her face.
　She had wounds here and there, and had just been treated with Mercier.

"Iris, are you okay?
Oh, doctor. ....... I'm sorry I let the ...... enemy escape.
No, it's the same for me. I'm rather glad you two are okay. We captured some of them, but ...... the ones that I and Iris fought are probably the main force.
"......Yeah, right.

　I'm sure you'll be able to understand why.
　That alone was enough for me to understand what had happened to Iris. --The assassins' movements I saw were similar to Aria's.

...... Was Aria the one Iris was fighting?
"......?　How did you know that? ......!

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.
　She averts her gaze and after a few seconds of silence.

I thought I'd tell Dr. ...... about it right away. But I didn't know how to explain it. ......
"I see.

　I guess he didn't want to explicitly call Aria an enemy.
　But in reality, Aria was the one who attacked Iris.
　My prediction turned out to be wrong.
　Given the timing of Aria's disappearance and the situation with the Marshal's daughter from the Empire ......, it was quite possible that Aria was working for the organization that wanted Aena. Or perhaps she was a part of that organization from the beginning.

(...... No, that's not very likely. But what if that was part of the plan?)

　While I was pondering this, my gaze suddenly met Iris's.
　The pestering look in her eyes was something Iris had never shown me before.

"Doctor ......, what should I do?
You don't have to do anything.
"No!

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

It is clear that this matter is aimed at us. So we'll deal with it.
What do you mean, "deal with it?" ...... What are you going to do?
It's clear. The enemy is clearly targeting me. ...... We will deal with the enemy. Nothing more, nothing less.
It's .......

　Iris choked on her words.
　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few. I think Iris can't answer well because Aria is among them.
　But it's my role to answer here.

I understand what you're thinking, Aena. It is the role of us, the knights of the kingdom, to intercept the enemy.
But...　I should've asked you about that too. No, you don't need to ask. ...... The youngest knight in the kingdom, huh?
I was going to formally introduce you later, but...
No, thank you. I'm sure you've heard of it. I've heard that you're skilled enough to defeat the Swordsmen single-handedly.

　It seems that a certain amount of information has been passed down to the Imperial side as well.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. ...... Well, since the son of the king plotted to assassinate Iris, one of the candidates for king, there's no way that a case of that magnitude could go unnoticed. I'm sure there will be an investigation.

I'd like to introduce myself again, but at least I've been entrusted with Aena-sama's protection.
And you want me to leave her alone?　Do you think I'll accept that?
Of course, I don't expect you to accept that. I'm just curious about something.
What is it?
I think it's highly likely that this is aimed at you, Miss Aena.
...... I think it's more likely than not.
I think so too. But you don't care about the assassins you've captured, you only care about the ones who have already escaped. Isn't that because you already know who you are dealing with?


"!

　Aena looked surprised when she heard my words.
　Of course, if she thought exactly as I did, it would be easy to dismiss the captured assassin as not having any information.
　But Aena was a soldier, and it seemed strange to me that she would not care about the assassins she had captured, even if there was a small chance that they had escaped.

You're a funny guy. You're good at what you do, but you're also good at assessing situations calmly.
I'm flattered by the compliment.
It's true, I knew I could be targeted, and I even went out of my way to make sure I was.

　Aena replied: "When you asked me to reduce the number of knights in my guard, you clearly meant that you wanted to appear less defensive.

Do you know about the enemy, Master Aena?
Yes, I'm aware of them too. ...... They--the Shadow Apostles--are enemies of the Empire.

　Yes, Aena replied clearly.
　The name of the assassins' organization and Aria's involvement in it were new revelations.