I killed the signs and proceeded on, and eventually found a door that opened onto a passage.

(.........there.)

　Light was leaking out of the gap between the wall and the door, and through the peephole made in the door - definitely proof that there was a person there.

''..........''
..........

　Me and Solstice nodded at each other.

　We extinguished the torch flame and approached cautiously as it was, checking inside through the peephole.

(...there are five of them.)

　It's a room that looks like an anteroom.

　There were five men dressed in adventurer-like outfits sitting around a table with drinks and snacks of cheese in hand, playing a card game.

(Could they be the guys who kidnapped us that time?)

　Or so I thought.

　Only, that old man in the black robe I had met in front of the jail is not here.

　I noticed that one of the five men, though not the replacement, was the short man with the old man.

　He was the one who was giving me a fond look at me at that time.

(............)

　brrrrrl

　I shuddered again when I remembered it.

　I held it together and kept checking.

　There are four people around the table and one leaning against the back wall, drinking and watching.

(Hmmm.)

　I memorize everyone's position in the room with a firm grip on my memory.　

　Thankfully, the four people around the table were not carelessly obediently wearing their swords.

　Four curved swords were hooked to the back wall, still in their scabbards.

(Good, that helps.)

　And with that in mind.

　Qui Qui.

　Solstice tugged at the sleeve of my dress.
　Hmm?

　If you look at her, she points to her mouth and cracks up.

　She has something to tell us.

　We stepped away from the door once.

''...What?''

　I ask in a whisper.

　Solstice answered in a slightly hard voice.

''Well there was one 'Demon Blood People' over there.

(...what?)

　To my surprise, she says.

'Wasn't there one man you met in front of the jail earlier?　That guy is a demon-blood people. The amount of magic element in his body was extraordinary. There's no doubt about it.

　Solstice is a wizard.

　That's why he can directly feel the flow of magical elements necessary for magic without using a measuring device.

　There's no doubt about it.

(I see.)

　It's tricky to have a 'Demon Blood People' as an opponent.

　Their physical abilities were at a level that could not be compared to a person without demon blood. Moreover, among the five of us, that guy was the only one who had a sword sash on his waist belt.

　I, on the other hand, am unarmed.

''What do we do, Marl?''

　Solstice asks anxiously.

　It was one option to continue to walk past this door without a fight.

　But.

I knew it. We should take them down.
..........
'This sewer is too big, we can't proceed with our search without information. We need to find out where the other girls are being held and where the exits are and maybe we won't be able to help them in time.

　The old man said.

He said, "The time for the ritual is not yet over.

　On the contrary, there is a time limit to the ceremony.

So, we have to hurry.

　Solstice nodded at the look of determination on my face.

'Okay,'
Yes.
'But be careful. If it's bad, you'll be in 'god body mode' in no time, okay?

　I'm going to remind him.

　I nodded and smiled.

'I know. Solstice, you'll have to wait here.
..........

　Solstice looks at me with an indescribable expression on her face.

　I take a deep breath.

Well, I'm off.

　After saying that, he slowly began to act.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Leaving Solstice alone this time, I approach the door, this time alone, and place my small hand on the doorknob.

　With a little effort, I turn it around.

(...It's not locked.)

　When I confirmed this, I held my posture low, like a beast just before it attacked me.

　Breathing in and out.

(3 ... 2 ... 1 ...)

　I counted in my mind.

(0!)

　At the last count, he turns the doorknob as hard as he can and rushes into the room.

　The door opens vigorously.

　From there, a girl with long brown hair and a skirt tossed up - that is, me - enters and attacks the man sitting on the nearest chair.

　Gangs.

　He slams his fist into the back of his head with all his weight.

(responsive, dude!)

　I've never been in a hand-to-hand combat situation.

　But we all did the same thing.

　Sword or no sword, the opponent's pressure point is the same.

　And although I don't have a sword in my hand, I just need to treat this hand as a sword.

　A wooden sword of miniscule length that cannot be cut.

　That's the image in both hands.

　The reach is short, but the ease of handling is superior to any sword that has ever been used.

　The thrust with that minuscule length of wooden sword is brilliant, making the man fall into a coma with a single strike.

　Gong.

　The man lost consciousness and fell face first onto the table.

　The impact caused the cards on the table to fly up.

''Wha........?''
What?

　While the men were confused, I went straight for it and slashed at the man to my left.

　Hyphen.

　He feinted lightly to the right and then aimed a hand sword at the left temple.

　The man was caught in the feint and his face was guarded on the right side. The left temple, which was empty, was hit by the full force cleave.

　Gakii!

What?

　The man's head popped and he fell straight off the chair.

(Okay, two!)

　Cheering in my mind, I ran and kicked the wall with the momentum of my punches and leapt into the air in the manner of a triangle jump.

　Tang.

　A girl's figure dances above the table.

(Now it's a sword of the foot!)

　Conscious of the image, he kicked the man sitting on the other side of the table in the face with the momentum of his leap.

　Zugangs.

.........geez!

　The broken front teeth pop and the man flips over onto his back along with the chair.

　I land on the table as it is.

　His long brown hair spills down my back, a little late, and his skirt spins loosely to a stop.

　In front of me is one man, still sitting in his chair, stunned.

(Ei!)

　A slash from the bottom.

　Gun.

　Kicking up with all his might, his toe pierced the man's chin with precision, and he fell to the floor with a hunch as his eyes went white.

(That's four!)

　From the table, my blue eyes looked down at the remaining one.

'What the hell, man!

　The short man, who was probably used to rough stuff, drew the curved sword from its sheath at his waist in confusion.

　I don't move.

　At least, I must not appear to be moving.

　The four of us could be defeated.

　But the odds are still stacked against us.

　I'm a mere child without a weapon, and my opponent is an adult male from the People of the Demon Blood with a sword in his hand.

(We have to settle this in the confusion.)

　There would be no way for me to win.

　So I had to show up with plenty of room to spare in order to help him get upset.

　The mysterious girl who defeated four men in an instant - that's me now.

''..........''

　I half-position myself on the table, smiling wryly.

　Concentration.

　If I'm not careful, I'll be hit in an instant.

'd*mn ... ole!

　At my attitude, the man attacked me with his curved sword as if he was in a hurry.

(-- fast!)

　bang

　I was prepared, and I fly backwards.

　Zgaang.

　The curved sword passed under my feet and cut the table I had been standing on in half.

　What power.

(As expected of the 'Demon Blood People'.)　

　The liquor bottles, cups, and cards on the table were scattered about, and the two separate tables crumbled to the floor with a crash.

　I landed on the floor.

　Of course, I don't lose my spare expression.

''Ku........!

　The man glares at me and grits his teeth with a grimace.

　Then he suddenly realizes who I am.

''You.........you're not the girl I caught today?

　I was astonished.

　I gave him a small smile of 'correct' as if to praise him, and lightly plucked at my skirt with both hands, chomping it.

　Then, he beckoned me to join him with a quickie.

　The man became red-faced and enraged at being challenged by a young girl who even had inferior feelings for him.

　Of course, I don't have that much time to spare either.

　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it, but I'm going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it.

(--next time, I'll decide.)

　If I take my time, my opponent will calm down and I will have no chance against my inferior strength and armament.

　The next attack, I would counter with the next attack.

　It's the only way to win.

　If I fail, it's all over.

　Not only will I be dead, but Solstice, the girl I was with, may be killed as well.

　And I can't help those girls who were kidnapped.

I won't let that happen!

　I'm focused.

　It's just like that time.

　When I was in the Arun Divine Empire, there was a situation where I absolutely had to dodge Kirt-san's attack.

　Paper-thin evasion and counterattack.

　That must be the minimum, necessary skill for an adventurer.

　Once, on the old streets of the royal capital, Kirto Amandes had dodged the attacks of a man-eating demon (Ogre) with a paper-thin line of defense.

　Once, in the spirit world of the past, Illtimina Wong had continued to dodge the attacks of the black flying dragon with a paper-thin line of defense and counterattack.

　Just like those two demon hunters I admired, I too--''

''-----''

　Extreme concentration.

　The color fades from the world and no sound is heard.

　In that gray world, the short man takes a big step towards me.

　In response, I step forward as well.

　The tip of the approaching curved sword leaps up and is swung off at a greater speed - all of which seemed to be in slow motion.

(Is my aim on my left shoulder!)

　The trajectory of swinging through to the abdomen in a straight kesa cut.

　I noticed, I twisted my slow body desperately.

　The vicious blade approaching.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good deal more than a few of my brown hair, and I pushed my small body inside the slash.

　Right next to me, the blade of death passes through.

　Simultaneously I unleashed the smallest wooden sword, straight out.

　Gong.

　The sound transmitted from the bone.

　My left palm strike, released on the counter, hits the man's chin cleanly. And with the momentum of the man stepping in, he spun around in the air as if he were doing a backward somersault.

　And then he drops to the ground.

　At the same time, color and sound returned to my world, which had been gray.



　I exhaled heavily, the breath I had been holding.

　At his feet, a short man, completely unconscious, was lying on the ground.

(............)

　I looked around the room.　

　There was no one there who was moving except me.

　There was only the sight of five men lying unconscious, with one little girl standing quietly in the center of them.

'Phew.'

　I exhaled heavily.

　Karangs.

(!)

　Suddenly there was a noise and I turned around in a hurry.

　There was Solstice standing in the doorway of the room, lifting and positioning a chair with both hands.

''...........''

　She looks at the room, stunned.

　Apparently, she was planning to use the chair as a weapon to join me.

　Realizing that it was a waste of time, she tosses the chair to the floor with a Buddha's face.

　Gagon.

　As it is, he walks indoors and looks at the five men stretched out and then at me.　

''.........You're really getting stronger, aren't you?

　It was honest praise.

(............)

　I was surprised.
　And I was also surprised that she was happy to hear those words, even to my own surprise.

'Thanks,'

　I laughed.

　Solstice finally laughed, too, and tapped me lightly on the chest with a ton.

'Good job, Merle. Really, you did a great job.
Yeah.

　With his gentle voice and dazzling smile, I was finally convinced of my victory, and I felt like I had been rewarded for all the fear I had fought against earlier.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　In the room where the fight is over, we tie the hands and feet of the five unconscious men with ropes.

(.........that's it.)

　Pan, pan.

　I tie it tightly and I pay off my hands.

　By the way, the rope is something I found by scavenging the room.

　Solstice picked up the fallen curved sword and gave it a swish with a huff.

(Nice swing.)

　His swordsmanship is still sweet, but I don't think there are many people who can swing a sword of that weight with such lightness. At least not for me.

''Here we go.

　Solstice muttered.

　Then he looked at me for confirmation.

　I nodded.

　After watching it happen, she kicked one of the unconscious men in the stomach with a thud.

(.........ouch.)

　I feel like I've been kicked.

　In front of me, who involuntarily pressed my stomach, Solstice continued to kick the man repeatedly, and eventually the man regained consciousness while spitting with a "gaha".



　The man, freshly awakened, is still confused.

　A white blade was placed on his neck.

　Snap.

　The man stopped moving.

　Solstice pressed the curved blade against the man's neck and told him in a cold look and voice, "I have a question for you.

'I have a question for you. Answer me honestly.''
..........
You don't have to answer the question, if you don't want to. There are four more waiting to take your place. You'll be tortured and killed.

.................

　It's an act of brilliance.

　...It's an act, right?　It was so powerful that I wanted to worry about that.

　In fact, since Solstice is a beautiful girl of immense beauty, her ruthless lines sounded like they were inhabited by truth.

''There's no point in lying, okay?　I'll ask the other guys the same question.
..........
If you get a different answer you know what will happen of course, don't you?

　A small amount of red blood flows, as if the skin against the blade has been cut, a small amount of red blood.

　Gok.

　The man swallowed loudly and spitefully.

'Wow, okay. What do you want to hear?

　At those words, Solstice smiled lustily.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　And then the interrogation begins.

Did you guys do this whole scandalous child abduction thing first?

　The man answered Solstice's question.

'Ah, ah, yes.'
Hmm?　For what?
"I don't know anything about that. We're just hired by the money!　Oh, it's true!　I ain't lying!

　A desperate look.



　I crouched down next to him and nodded my head.

'So who's your employer?'
...Huh?

　He must have remembered what I did to him, because he let out a drawl and replied in a hurry.

'Oh, it's the magicians of the Royal Academy of Magic!

　He spits and shouts.

(A magician from the Royal Academy of Magic!

　An unexpected name popped up and me and Solstice looked at each other.

　The Royal Magic Institute.

　It's a magic institute run by the Kingdom of Shumuria.

　In other words, a state institution.

(How could someone from such a place be involved... this case is more important than I thought?

　We were surprised.

Well, no, I mean, technically, I'm an ex, but...

　He added, as if frightened.

(.........hmmm?)

　It's kind of complicated.　

You see?　Then tell me more about that.

　tightly packed

　Solstice slaps his cheek with the belly of his curved sword.

　Then, what I got out of him in detail was this.

　They themselves were one of the rogue groups that had their roots in the favela.

　The ones who made the request to them were that old man in black robes and the other 10 or so magical scholars who had been expelled from the Royal Academy of Magic, it was said.

(Expelled...?

　I don't know the reason for that banishment.

　The only thing I heard was a rumor that it was because they were involved in forbidden research.

"They say that in order to perform the rituals that are the result of their research, they need to sacrifice a lot of young virgins...

　He confessed, sounding like he was about to cry.

　Mekhi.

　I clench my fists.

(You kidnapped a bunch of innocent girls for that!)

　At the look of anger on my face, the man said, "Hii! I was frightened.

　Solstice asked in a voice that killed her emotions.

'How many girls did you kidnap?'
Jeez, 19 ... 21 if you count you guys.

　The man replies shakily.

'Where are those kids?'
They'll be separated into groups and locked in cells. There's a map of the place right there.

　I pointed to a shelf in my room.

　I quickly scavenged the shelves.

(Is this it?)

　It looked like a drawing of a water distribution pipe.

　As I thought, this place seemed to be a sewer system underneath the royal capital, Mulia, and it seemed to be the base of their rogue group that had converted that unused section of the city.

''Here and here ... and here, too.''
..........
..........

　I'm going to make a mark in the place the man indicated.

(...7 places?)

When will you perform the ritual?
I'll be here tonight.
Where is it?
This is a big space, I hear.

　I'll mark it there as well.

　This is probably where that black-robed old man and all the magicians who were expelled from the Royal Academy of Magic are gathered.　

How many more of you are there in total?
Thirty-eight.

　...That's quite a lot.

　Five down here, 33 to go.

　Add the 10 exiled magicians, and we have 43 enemies.

...Can we handle them on our own?

　We've got a map, and we might as well get out and call for backup once we're out there.

　I look at Solstice.

　She's biting her thumbnail with a difficult look on her face.

'This isn't good.'
"...Solstice?

　She looked at me.

'How long do you think we've been asleep?'
..........
'My experience is that the sun has already set. We shouldn't have much time before that abject ritual begins.

　From the look of impatience on her face, I too understand the urgency of the situation.

(.........I see.)

　I nodded.

'Looks like we won't have time to call for backup.
..........
'Then for now, let's release the captive girls and get them out of there first, and I'm sure most of the forty-three enemies will be at the ritual site, too, and I don't think we'll get into battle with all of them.
Well....

　Solstice nodded.

　Then she looked at the man and smiled.

'Thank you, I got what I wanted to hear.

　That angelic smile on his face gives him a look of relief.

　Megog.

　The hilt of the curved sword was thrust into his face.

'Good night.'

　Staring coldly at the comatose man again, she flings away the curved sword with its blood-stained handle.

　No mercy.

　But this man is also one of those who kidnapped young girls, not much older than they are, as a sacrifice.
　I have no sympathy for him.

　Solstice stands up and puts his new curved sword on his waistband.

　I look at it and ask, "Can it work?

"Does it work?
Hmm. I've been practicing my sword all day, too.

　She smiled wryly.

'Are you the one who doesn't need a sword, Merle?'
Yes.

　With that curved sword, it's too heavy, and you can't fight against it.

　Just in case, I only got a fruit knife for self-defense.

(Actually, I wish I had my new dagger that I bought...)

　There was no point in asking for something that wasn't there.

　We've got our weapons and a map, and we've also managed to secure a canteen of water, some food, and two lanterns.

　We won't have any trouble exploring this sewer.

'Alright, let's hurry up, Marl.
Yes.

　We nodded to each other.

　We left the room, leaving the unconscious men behind, and Solstice and I began to walk through the darkened corridor again, following the lantern light.