Three days later.

　Three days later, the red ospreys had infiltrated the Duke of Nilesteria's residence.
　Looking from afar at the square, which the people of the residence call the training ground, in a corner of the sprawling grounds that could house a small village, Akamisago pictured the arrangements in his mind.

　Even if you don't go out of your way to carry out an attack in broad daylight, it would be easier to sneak in quietly in the middle of the night when the people in the mansion are asleep.
　If it is daytime, there are many people involved in guarding the house, and we have to show ourselves. That's how the level of danger rises.

　However, if it was a strong request from the client, it was a different story.
　The attack was planned with the knowledge of how much money had been laid on the table and the risk of losing the organization's skills.
　Perhaps the client wants the world to know that "the duchess has been attacked".

　However, as a member of the end of the line, the red osprey has neither the ability nor the status to verify this.
　He just does what he is assigned to do.

　The role that the Akamisago was given was to "see to it".
　Regardless of the success or failure of the attack, the top priority is to see how and why it happened and report back to the organization.
　For this reason, the Red Osprey will not participate in the raid directly.
　Her top priority was to watch the whole thing from a distance from the other comrades and bring back the report without contacting either the enemy or her allies.

(It's about time.)

　As we had discussed beforehand, the organization's associates are in position to surround the forge.

　The red osprey moved his eyes to the center of the training ground.
　Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two figures.

　One is a girl with iris-colored hair. She is the target, the duchess.
　Facing her is a boy with black hair. Perhaps that is the mercenary known as the Magician of a Thousand Swords.
　Beside him is a beast that is over a meter in length and is wrapped in golden color all over.

(What the hell is that?　(Pet - too big for a pet - but?

　The red osprey frowned inwardly at the uncertainty that had appeared here.

　The two of them and one other person were the only ones in the center of the forge.
　The rest of the squires and servants were clustered in a remote location that was probably a resting place.
　There were several guards stationed around the perimeter of the training ground, but conversely, once they broke through that enclosure, there was only a single mercenary on the duchess' side.

　Normally, a mercenary with two names, such as Thousand Swords Magician, wouldn't deliberately attack in this situation where a mercenary with two names, such as Thousand Swords Magician, is right beside the target.
　However, to put it another way, once the Thousand Swords Magician was subdued, the only thing left to do was the helpless Duchess.

　Since the other guards are dispersed at a distance, it will take some time for them to come rushing in.
　Even if it's only a few short seconds, that's enough time to plunge their blades into the Duchess. It wouldn't be so difficult for the organization's handlers to do so.

　Sneaking into the Duke's residence itself would normally involve considerable difficulty.
　But this time around, it was easy to proceed because several servants are well versed in our area.
　No matter how loyal they are to the duke's family, no matter how much loyalty they have to the duke's family, they will not be able to disobey if their family members are taken hostage.

　I don't feel sorry for them.
　There are people important enough to be taken hostage. This is because the red osprey can feel happy enough with that alone.

(It's time.)

　The predetermined time arrives.
　The red osprey, who had been watching from a distance to avoid detection, also approaches, refusing to be seen, in order to get a good look at the battle.

　A long, tranquil scene with sunlight shining through.
　His friends begin to move to tear it apart.

　Suddenly, a masked figure emerges from one of the training grounds.

　Beating down the guards without question, the nine assassins rushed towards the duchess and the thousand-sword sorcerer without a care in the world.
　The guards in the immediate vicinity immediately noticed the oddity, but the guards on the other side of the large forge still didn't seem to understand what had happened.

　So the two of them standing in the middle of the forge are--.

(Notice?)

　The Thousand Swords Sorcerer turned his gaze in the direction of the assassin's arrival.
　The duchess also received a warning from the Thousand Swords Magician, and she held a wooden sword in her hand and prepared herself.

　But the assassins would not stop.
　The assassins will not stop, because there is no advantage in hesitating at this stage of the game.

　The guards, who have noticed the presence of the assassins, are about to rush to the Duchess in a hurry, but it's too late.

　The assassins, who are only fifty meters away from the duchess, take out a handful of ore from their pockets and throw it out.
　In the next moment, the explosive flames flare up, releasing a brilliant flame color.

　Without waiting for the flames to converge, new ones are created one after another.
　It's almost as if they were reminiscent of a molten mountain deep in the Canobis Mountains that is said to be constantly generating fire.

　The forge is now almost invisible due to the raging blasts and rising dust.

　The relic known as the "Fiery Magic Stone" was used to generate a single flame.
　It is said that even those who cannot use magic can extract the same effect as the offensive magic, but its production dates back to the age of ancient civilizations and even mythology, and it is impossible to create new ones nowadays.

　This is why magic stones are rare and are traded at high prices.
　It's not a price that the average person can afford, especially when it comes to a magic stone as powerful as high-level magic.
　The Burning Demon Stone is as powerful as the high-level magic Purgatory Flame Ferno Resta Ganov, so a single Demon Stone is said to be enough for a family of four to live on for two years.
　It was too extravagant to be used up in an instant.

　That was a total of thirty. This was the number that the Red Osprey's friends were unleashing on the duchesses right now.

　This was the reason why they had forced an assault in the middle of the day, even taking into account the existence of a strong man called the Thousand Sword Magician.
　Considering the amount of money spent on the magical stones, one can only be stunned, but even so, the client must have wanted to harm the duchess.

　With such a large number and power on their bodies, even if the opponent is a magician of a thousand swords, there should be no room for one more.
　And even more importantly, a duchess who has no way to defend herself - that was the decision of the "Uraito Takumi".

　Of course, we can't rely on such an uncertain method alone.
　Even if the client's goal was to prevent the Duchess from attending the garden party a few days later as the lurking swallow said, the order given by the organization was to "assassinate the Duchess".
　Only by identifying the charred corpse of the Duchess and stripping her body of even one of her ornaments and bringing it back would it be possible to say that the request was successfully carried out.

　The explosive flames ceased and the dust cloud gradually subsided.
　Nine shadows were moving swiftly through it.

　As planned, the two shadows headed for the duchess.
　The purpose of this is to check the body of the duchess and to finish her off if there is a breath.

　The remaining seven members' role is to deal with the Thousand Swords Magician. If the Thousand Swords Magician was still alive, their role was to check and hold him down.
　But in the next moment, the red osprey saw an unbelievable sight.

　The figure of his friends suddenly blown up.

'Surround them!'

　The next thing that reached my ears was the voice of 'Uraito Takeaway' instructing my friends.
　The companions immediately scattered in a circle. In the center of it all, a dark-haired boy stood unharmed.

(Ridiculous!)

　The red osprey almost gasped.

　The power of the Burning Hot Magic Stone, which is comparable to advanced magic, is extraordinary.
　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you can get your hands on it.

　Beside her was the duchess, also unharmed, holding a wooden sword.
　Is it possible to protect not only himself but also the duchess from that explosive fire?

　A cold sweat runs down the red osprey's back.
　The comrades surrounding the Thousand Sword Magician must feel the same way.

　But they can't stare at each other forever.
　Because in this situation, time is the enemy for the red ospreys.

''Miss!''

　The guards that were scattered around the forge rushed to the duchess.
　That also meant that the assassins were being surrounded by enemies.

''Get a move on!''

　The assassins pounce on you as if you were played by the short command of "Uraito Tenkai".

　Even though he is a renowned sorcerer, he won't be able to deal with them if multiple people attack one after another from a distance.
　The sword magic controlled by the dark-haired boy is said to be powerful even at close range, but he has only one wooden sword in his hand.
　There was no way a mere mercenary could bring a seriousness into the duke's estate, and the servants had confirmed that he left all his swords with them every time he entered and left the duke's residence.

　There was no way a sorcerer could deal with an assassin with a single wooden sword.
　That's why he dared to attack in broad daylight like this, even though the other party was a well-known mercenary.

　And yet--.

(Why can a man be slashed with a wooden sword!

　The red osprey's eyes widened in astonishment.
　The Senken sorcerer lightly defeated the attacks directed at him at the same time and cut down one of the assassins with a swing in return.
　The slashed assassin collapses while spurting out fresh blood from his body.

　The red osprey felt the unrest among the assassins surrounding the sorcerer.

　The sorcerer neutralized the assassins who attacked him one after another with his skillful sword work.
　The taijisuji, whose gaplessness is unnoticeable, can hardly be considered a sorcerer's self-defense technique.

　However, the assassins they are facing are skilled.
　As planned, the two assassins set their sights on the duchess.
　The remaining assassins will be able to accomplish their task if they end the life of the duchess while the remaining assassins hold the thousand-sword sorcerer in check. This is because the objective is not to defeat the sorcerer in any way.

　But once again, an unexpected scene appears in the eyes of the red osprey.
　The next moment, the golden beast that was standing right beside the young lady bites the assassin's arm as he thrusts out his dagger and stops moving. The warrior daughter made a sharp thrust with her wooden sword and repelled the assassin.

(Tough.)

　Taking an objective look at the situation from a distance, the red osprey realizes that the attack has failed.

　Of the nine assassins, four have already been defeated by the sorcerer, and one by the duchess and the golden beast.
　It seems that the remaining three have decided to retreat after the 'back thread handlers' who were put together by the sorcerer were finally defeated by the sorcerer.

　I've got to say, I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.
　There is a possibility that the guards who rushed up to them would block their path, but they are not the ones who would falter in breaking through to that degree.

(Will those nine men fail? ......)

　The moment the three survivors scattered, the red osprey also immediately ducked and fled from the grounds of the Duke's residence.