Late at night, I had slipped out of my room.
　I had to check on the trap I had set.

Since I heard from my father that someone was trying to assassinate Epona, I had been trying to stay as close to her as possible.
　If I searched carefully, I could sense the presence of an assassin.
　But he seemed to be cautious and reasonably skilled, and I couldn't let him grab my tail.

So I changed my policy.
　If he can't grab the tail, then I'm going to lead him to show his tail.
　In order to make them take action, we make them think that 'this is the only time'.

First of all, in preparation for that, I acted as Epona's escort. It's not outright, it's acting as if it's an escort that operates as a secret order. However, I'm trying to make sure that those who understand will understand.
　The reason I did this slumbering thing is to get people to let their guard down.
　People are a curious thing, they suspect that information told by others or randomly lying around may be false information, but they unconditionally believe information that they have seen through with their own abilities.
　That's what this one is, too. Because they saw through my behavior of hiding the fact that I was my bodyguard, they believed that I was my bodyguard.

And when that happens, they'll start looking for the right moment for me to leave.
　I showed such an opponent the timing of my absence.

I knew they would make a move, no matter how unprepared they were. It's unlikely that they'll carry out the assassination, but they'll at least make the kind of preparations that I couldn't do on my watch.
　One of the traps was keeping Neusch in place instead.
　As expected, completely abandoning the role of bodyguard would arouse suspicion, so Noish, who is skilled, was placed as a substitute.
　However, in the case of Noosh, even though he has excellent skills in orthodox swordsmanship, he doesn't know the methods of an assassin and his behavior as a bodyguard is inexperienced.
　Hence, he would always show an opening, and he was convinced that the enemy was an assassin with enough skill to take advantage of the opening.

If I, the noisy me, were to leave and outwit the substitute, I would be convinced that it was 'now or never'.
　In essence, this was a trap to get the cowardly ones who were watching from afar to get their hands on me.
　Well, if Epona was the target to be protected, she wouldn't take such a rough move, and because it was Epona who wouldn't die for sure, she dared to force him to think it was an opportunity to move.

Epona's room, sneaking into the ceiling of it.
　There aren't too many advantageous positions to be in when performing an assassination, and I'll crush them one by one.
　If I'm going to carry out the assassination, or prepare for it, I must have snuck in somewhere.
　...we've found them. This is definitely the place.

"You aim to get in, but you don't have the right equipment for the job. From what I see, it looks like you can kill it any time you want.

Looking down from the ceiling, Epona is sleeping comfortably and soundly.
　Even though I'm just a few meters away from her. She is completely unguarded.

Even if you fired a volley of gunfire from here, it would only leave you with a scratch.
Even a "full fire" can't kill them.

Well, let's go.
　Our quarry is trapped.
　By tomorrow, we should be able to identify the assassin.

◇

The next day, he goes to the school as normal.
　He observes the people on the street while using his Touahade eyes.
　It's to check the results of the trap.
　Calling it a trap does not mean that I killed or injured them.
　I just marked it out.

We believe the assassin is a teacher or a student, in all likelihood.
　Security is tight at this school. It's especially difficult to break in from outside the school.
　Since the children of the nobility live in such a crowded area, this is inevitable.
　Then it's the ones on the inside that should be suspected.

The teachers are all excellent people, the students are magical and some of the children born into families like Touahade have special training.
　........It's not surprising that there are assassins.

''Rougu-sama, you've been scurrying around for a while now, what's going on?
How do you know?

I'm surprised. Tart is right about me observing my surroundings.
　However, I don't behave in such a way that the people around me realize that I'm being cautious.
　If I did that, the people around me would be suspicious.
　That's why he used the method of analyzing the images captured in his brain, using the whole vision instead of focusing on it.
　From the side, it was the same as usual.

'Somehow. Well, the atmosphere is a little different.
Okay. That's a good boy.

I stroke Tart's head and he squints at me happily.
　For an assassin, a highly sensitive sensor is of utmost importance. If they can't notice any minor signs, they can't survive.

Ugh, it's not fair to be praised all the time by the tart. I have to work harder.
Didn't Deere just compliment you on your magic yesterday?
That's it, that's it, that's it.

Dia is puffed up.
　It's adorable to see the rivalry in this way.

◇

I walked into the classroom and was relieved.
　Apparently, there are no assassins in this class.
　Thank goodness. I was getting along reasonably well with the ones in this class, and I didn't want my classmates to be missing.

After the class was over, he made his way to the instructor's packing station to run an errand.
　At least the instructor who was there was White.
　Furthermore, at lunchtime, instead of eating his lunch in the courtyard as usual, he headed to the cafeteria.
　You can encounter more students that way.
　They came to the cafeteria to look for the assassin, but Tart and Dia, who don't know what's going on, are genuinely enjoying the food in the cafeteria.

''Delicious........I was surprised.''
But it's expensive.
They have the right ingredients.

It's really good.
　We don't usually use the cafeteria because Tart always gets the ingredients to make dinner and even makes a bento with the leftover ingredients, but it would be nice to use the cafeteria for the occasional luxury.

The ingredients are good and the effort is worth it. That's why it's so expensive.
　Unlike breakfast and dinner, lunch is on its own, a price that takes courage to spend.

Touahade is making money as a doctor, so it's not impossible to use it on a regular basis if you cry to your parents, but if you're earning as much as a baron, it's pretty tight.
　Hence, not too many students attend the school. Probably only about forty percent of them use the cafeteria.
　Even so, the reason why there are more students than those eating in the courtyard is because there are many students who are shy about not having the financial ability to use the cafeteria and sneak out to eat somewhere else.

'It's not just the good ingredients they use. It's not just the good ingredients, but the way it's cooked. The cream stew itself has a great flavor, but the chicken is fantastic, and even though all the flavor is in the stew, it's so moist and delicious, it's like magic.

My love of cooking is in my blood.
　It's almost as if I'm going to run into the kitchen afterwards and ask him to give me the recipe.
　This kind of ambition is a virtue of the tart.
　I look around, loving such a tart.

I finally found it.
　The true identity of my trap........is a special powdered paint. In advance, powdered paint was spread over all the places where the assassin would be preparing to kill Epona or preparing for her.
　It was a grayish white color, and due to the fact that it was minuscule, you wouldn't notice that it was attached to you.

However, when it adhered to his skin, it couldn't be removed just by washing it with water, and the powdered paint appeared to glow blue when he looked at it with Touahade's eyes.

'Heh, him?'

A man from a marquess family who was barely enrolled in A class.
　....to raise the enemy's grade one notch.

He knew that the assassin was capable by the way he had behaved the past few days. He's the kind of guy who would be entrusted with the assassination of a brave man in the first place.
　If he wanted to, he deserved to be in this S-class.

However, if he wasn't there, it would mean that he was enrolled in a lower class in order to keep a low profile and be professional.
　It's also smart to hide in the A class, where you are given a strictly private room to keep your distance from your surroundings.
　I dared to enter the S class in order to probe for weaknesses near Epona, but the high road for an assassin would be to keep a low profile and keep a distance like he did.
　However, he lacks self-control if he's quick to bite the bait he's sprinkled on us.
　Thanks to that, only we were able to gain a one-sided advantage.
　The rest can do whatever they want.

''Mm, I see that Mr. Rougues really likes the food in the dining room. I won't lose!　I'm going to make a dish that will make you think it's even better.

By loosening my expression, the tart mistakenly assumes that I like the food a lot.
　But do I even bother to mention it?
　It's such a great motivator for me.

'Lug, I think we're going to have some good food for dinner.
'Yeah, because I'm so fired up about it.

Dia and I look at the tart and giggle.
　Since the tart is making a feast for us, let's take care of it after dinner.

◇

After school, I made arrangements with several people, including the headmaster.
　Since one student would be gone, it was necessary to lay the groundwork in advance.
　As a result of various discussions, a scenario has been created in which the target escaped and disappeared because he couldn't bear the harsh school life.

I've already cut out a portion of the fence and made traces of his escape.
　A security guard with the headmaster's breath is supposed to provide an eyewitness testimony to prove his escape, and just in case, he is going to snag the uniform he is wearing and leave some fibers behind.

The headmaster was reluctant to take care of the student at first, but he was convinced when he explained that the other party was planning to assassinate the brave man.
　The brave take precedence over everything.

It's a one-way street. That's part of the root cause.

There was talk of the instructor being the one to carry out the punishment, but in the end it was decided that I would be the one to do it, just in case it was exposed.
　If the instructor killed a student, the existence of the school itself would be in trouble.

Late at night, I disguise myself and sneak into the A-rated dormitory.
　No tricks.

At the time when everyone is asleep, I just walk through the front gate to my destination room.
　It is after lights out and no one leaves the room.
　Leaving the room after lights out is an offense and a major penalty, except in S class.

After putting out the signs and not even a sound, he opens the door and enters the assassin's room using the key entrusted to him by the headmaster.
　He confirms that his target is asleep and immediately throws a knife at him.
　With Touahade's eyes, he sees through the amount of magic power the opponent is wearing, and it's a blow that is properly filled with magic power.

The knife penetrates through the quilt, the knife pierces deeply and blood spreads, but there is not even a scream.
　A fast-acting neurotoxin, you can't move a single finger the moment the poison flows into your body. Naturally, there's no way to scream.

The assassin looks at my face.
　There was confusion on his face.
　As Epona's guard, I guess it's not expected that I, as Epona's guard, would be in this kind of direct hands.
　........It's a bit lousy. It's too unguarded.

"My apologies. I just can't have you interfering with my work. And I'm going to give you a piece of advice that may be of no use to you. An assassin must always expect to be on the wrong side of the hunt. ...Well, I'm not sure I'm the only one who once failed.

I reap the consciousness, stop the bleeding, and carry it in the burlap bag I had brought with me, along with the blood-soaked sheets.
　We walk down the same unoccupied corridor as we came.
　He knows the patrol route and the timing, so he's not at risk.
　I never thought that the dormitory after lights out would be such an easy place to work.

.........Well, let's take them there, shall we?
　I've prepared a secret base for this kind of situation.
　A place where no matter how much noise we make, people won't notice us.
　We need to get this guy's motive for targeting Epona, we need to torture him.

Of course, it won't stop there. We finally have a magical body. I can experiment with the surgery to give Touahade eyes as much as I want.
　We must perform the procedure on the tart. We must be thorough.
　We're going to be busy tonight. I'm afraid I'll fall asleep in class tomorrow.