--Twelfth section of King's Landing, back alley.

　Dozens of guards had been gathered here.

　The knights under Eastwood's command were still in pursuit of the murderer, but that was not the duty of the guards.
　Rather, they have come here to deal with the people killed by the killer and to shorten the siege.

　Although they are on their guard and each has a weapon, their job is to clean up the bodies.
　They were solemnly carrying the bodies away, raising their eyebrows at the horrific manner of death.

...... How did this happen?
It hurts like hell, doesn't it?

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　I just received word that two of the guards standing guard at the Colosseum have been killed.
　Their majestic deed in the presence of numerous witnesses. By the time the guards rushed to the scene, the suspects were already gone.

　Also, a receptionist who said she had an idea of what he looked like matched his description.
　The captain of the guard was shocked to learn that the suspect had entered the tournament without hesitation.

　Arawn Bearclaw Smiles.

　I wonder if he's planning to enter the tournament.
　I'm amazed at how he can be so brazen when he's so wanted.

　There were three victims this time.
　All of them were skilled mercenaries who had registered to participate in the fighting tournament.

　The captain of the guard salivated at the fact that three of them had been buried at once.

　And then...

"Did you get there in time?
"So, Your Highness?

　The captain of the guard couldn't help but raise his voice at the sight of a girl who had come to the alleyway with her companion. At the same time, the guards who were engaged in their work also turned to look at the captain.

　With her hair swept up beautifully like the silver world, and dressed in light armor for training, she was Lilac M. Fangini.

　He was surprised to see a princess of the kingdom in such a place, but he immediately understood the situation and thanked her.

I'm sorry for barging in here without notifying you.
No problem!　But ......

　There's nothing here to show the princess.
　Lilac slipped past the captain of the guard.

"Oh, Your Highness.
It's okay. I'm a princess of this country. I'm not so soft that I can't face the death of my people.

　Her tone was unusually sharp, and the captain of the guard could do nothing but fall silent.
　Lilac's eyes were serious as she faced the corpse with her hands folded in prayer.
　Even the guards frowned at the wretched corpse, but she only narrowed her eyes slightly.

　As the captain of the guards was struck by her nobility and kindness towards her people, the girl Lilac had brought along as her escort said.

I'm pretty sure it's ....... ...... Ah, sir.

　For a moment, her emotionless eyes reflected the girl's.
　The girl corrects herself without a second thought, remembering that this was a "public place".
　If you can't even use honorifics, even if you're not used to it, you never know what might happen later.

"...... prim. What do you mean, there is no mistake?
That the condition of this corpse matches his modus operandi. ......

　Lilac raised her eyebrows at the mention of "modus operandi".
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.
　It's not just the fighters," she says, not willing to touch the blood.

I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've seen it before.
Yes. For me, for you.
Yeah. And I'm pretty sure this death was caused by his "special move."
...... "special move"?

　If this wasn't a public place, Lilac would have been looking at something really disturbing.
　Prim nodded in response to Lilac's question, which was modest, given the fact that she had forced the guards to come to the scene.

The technique that kills without fail. There's only one person in this world who's ever taken it and lived. If you get hit by this, you're almost certain to die.
"So you're saying I have to be on my feet to avoid it?
Even Futa would have to avoid that move. Can you tell me how bad it is?　Can you?
"......, huh?

　Recognizing that this was not a simple matter, Lilac stared at the condition of the body.
　I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

　It's not hard to see why.

What exactly is this technique?

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not.

"...... Mad Eater?

　I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I've seen it before.

"You see the grabbing marks here? Do you see it?
"Yeah. That's a lot of force.

　The way he grabbed the back of the head, it's not surprising that the bones of the head were crushed.
　Lilac was convinced that this was a different kind of bare-knuckle technique from Izuna Sienzan's Kuro Eagle Karate.



Just slam it into the ground or the wall.
What do you mean, "slam"?
It's like a rag. It slides down the wall or the ground.
...... That's a pretty nasty move.

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.
　Whether it's a wall or the ground, you won't be able to breathe. If you were to be hit with such a vise like force on a weak point such as the face, which cannot be strengthened in any way, it would be.

　It's like the saying, "One hit, one kill.

If someone grabs you by the back of the head, it's over?
Something like that. Yes.

　The fact that there were so many victims of these special moves suggests that they were neither too sparing nor too difficult to shoot.

　Lilac narrowed her eyes, alone.













　--Former residence of the Orba Trading Company, current home of Pasta.

　A corner of a residential area, a little outside the central district of the capital.
　This was where Pasta lived.

　Since it was originally used for commercial transactions, many people knew that it belonged to the Orba Chamber of Commerce, and they didn't think it strange that Pasta was living there now.

　The fact that one of the servants or some other person was in charge of the mansion was the result of their ability to control information.

　When Leafy arrived at the mansion, he didn't seem to be surprised by the size of the mansion. Perhaps she had originally been a guard or something in such a house,......, or perhaps she was from such a family.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　He had some thoughts about Leafy, but his priorities were more important.

...... This room looks as bleak as ever.
You're the one who made it bleak.
"Don't blame me. You got what you deserved.
You should feel a little responsible and die of guilt.
I wouldn't call it a little.

　It's a full-blown war of words.

　It was in an unused guest room that Pasta let Huta pass.
　It was dusty and not well cleaned, but Futa was used to this level of cleanliness. In fact, the rooms in the royal castle were too luxurious.

　Futa puts down his luggage and sits on the sofa in the room he was shown.
　Pasta sits down next to him and lets out a small yawn.

It's a lot of work just to get around.
I thought we were supposed to stay out of sight.
I know. I never thought I'd let you into my house like this." ......

　I'm not sure what the future holds," she muttered with a cheek swab.

　That's true. I never thought we'd be brother and sister.

"Why did you hire Leafy?
"Oh, that?　On a whim.
Hey.

　Pasta crosses her legs and fiddles with her heavy, two-sided up hair.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.

　I'm not sure what to do.
　You'll be able to see that there is no benefit in talking to Futa, but Futa glances at you to make sure that you're not left out of the loop on this one.

I thought it would be a good idea to have at least one model case of a general participant on hand. And in case it was a law enforcement agent who contacted me for my own purposes, it would be easier to draw him in when he was with you.
...... You were thinking about that?

　The words that trickled out were reasonable.
　In fact, it was only rational, and it was devoid of any kind of emotion.

That's right. I'm not surprised that some people found out about ...... my survival and tried to sell me off.

　I thought I was overthinking it, but Futa wouldn't say so.
　I'm sure she's a professional when it comes to survival.

Is that so?
"Yes.

　A silence fell over the room after their light words to each other.

　--In the distance, I heard voices saying "Meido" and "Me-meido? and so on.
　Without mentioning the girls or changing the subject, Futa stared at the pasta with thoughtful eyes.

　Normally, he would have jumped at the sound of Corona's voice without a second thought, but this silence.

　It was Pasta who lost his patience first.

"...... What?
"No. If I'm wrong, it's okay.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

I'm sure you're not the only one.

　When he was asked that question, he sensed a faint.
　I felt a strange emotion, like a sticky hatred.

　At that time, I immediately regained my expression and took advantage of her story.
　But in truth, you must have been thinking something.

　If that's an innocent guess, fine.
　However, Futa already knows that the girl in front of him tends to disregard her own feelings based on profit and loss.

　This time, there was merit in deceiving her like that, so she went along with it.
　There must have been something about the siblings, or Leafy's behavior, or something else that was out of Futa's imagination that made him uncomfortable.

　That's what Futa thought.

I'm sure you've got some sort of aversion to the term "...... siblings.
I'm not sure.



　Her eyebrows twitched.

　But she quickly snickered and stood up.

"Nothing. I was just irritated because I remembered that b*tc* Lilac.
"What the hell are you talking about? ......, hey, Beatrix?

　He stopped her as she walked towards the door of the room, wanting to finish the conversation.

　But she shook her head loosely, and then turned to look at Futa.

　Futa was at a loss for words.

　A strong hatred that painted her eyes. Her eyes were filled with such hatred that even if he tried to push it away, he could not. But even so, the smile she forced on herself lowered her eyebrows as if in trouble.

I'm not sure what to say.
Beatrix. ......
You can call me Pasta.

　She opens the door and closes her eyes hard once, as if to shake off her emotions. 　
　Then she exhaled and said.

After dinner, we'll have time to practice. Until then, you're free to do as you please.

　The door slammed shut.

　Futa was dumbfounded for a while, but then she closed her mouth and sat back down on the couch.

　There must be something about her.
　But she doesn't want to talk about it.

　A part of me thought, "That's fine. She's just a business partner, and I have no reason to care for her like Lilac or Corona.
　I'm sure she feels the same way.

　She's less likely to push him away. She also acts less viciously towards Futa.
　But that doesn't mean the distance between us has shrunk. It's just a change from malice to indifference.

　It is not something to be confided in a person of that level.
　It is a simple matter of interpretation.

　And it's just a glimpse of something. It doesn't mean anything happened to her.

There's no reason to care about ......, right?

　It should be.

　It's just.

"Well, but I'm bored.

　Futa lies to himself and stands up.

　--Let's say she's got something she wants to keep from you.

　If she had solved it, if she had someone to talk to about it, she wouldn't have looked at him like that.

　There may be no reason for Futa to move. He might just be curious.

"Well, but he's that guy.

　I don't feel guilty.

　If he's going to keep spouting this lie to Leafy for a while, it's going to keep coming back to haunt him.

　So.

I'll talk to Corona about it later.


...... Let's just leave it at that.



　Futa had no intention of leaving it like that at all.