Shilona bit her lip hard.
It was a painful mistake.
She should have scaled the wall alone while the rest of the group circled around the Kingdom of Delos to head toward the north. That was the only way to ensure the demons wouldn’t suspect that the Messenger of God was currently within the Kingdom of Delos.
However, in a moment of carelessness, Shilona had already passed through the gates of the royal capital and had been spotted by a monster disguised as a guard.
A Doppelganger.
It was a monster capable of mimicking the appearance of any living creature. These creatures were subordinates of the demon Amon. While their combat power was relatively weak, their abilities made them ideal for infiltration and deception, earning them the nickname “The Eyes of the Demon.”
Now that she had been spotted by such creatures, the demons would likely suspect that the Messenger of God was in the Kingdom of Delos.
“Now there is only one way left.”
The original plan was for her and four knights to infiltrate the Kingdom of Delos secretly to find the Messenger, but she had no choice but to revise the plan.
She would kill all the Doppelgangers before her and then send the knights to the north immediately. She would make it look as if they had only stopped in the Kingdom of Delos for a brief rest after a long journey.
After deceiving the demons in that manner, she would remain in the Kingdom of Delos alone to find the Messenger of God.
Yes. It was better to think of this as a stroke of luck.
Since they had openly passed through the gates of the Kingdom of Delos, sending the remaining knights to the north now would actually lessen the demons’ suspicions.
If the Messenger of God used the Power of Tuning again, she would be the first to meet him and welcome his second coming in this place where surveillance was weak.
Shilona looked around at the Doppelgangers surrounding her. By now, the Holy Knights would have turned their horses toward the north.
“I just need to take care of these things.”
With her thoughts organized, Shilona adjusted her grip on her sword. From now on, her task was to annihilate the Doppelgangers in front of her and hire someone of a similar stature to herself to send toward the Holy Empire.
By doing so, the primary goal of infiltrating the Kingdom of Delos would be achieved, even if the losses were significant.
Clang!
Recalling the final verse of the ancient scriptures, Shilona took a combat stance.
“The Messenger of God shall appear to tune the chaotic world.”
Before long, a shimmering, multicolored light bloomed like a haze upon her blade.
“I will surely complete the great task!”
With firm resolve, she lunged toward the Doppelgangers.
***
Dien arrived inside an alleyway after following the strange entities.
The clear sky had vanished, replaced by dark clouds hanging over the alley. Dien was looking around with a deep frown on his face.
The sound hitting his eardrums had grown so loud it was now unbearable.
After walking toward the sound for a short while, Dien witnessed a scene he had never expected.
Clang! Clang!
A woman holding a sword was engaged in a fierce battle with beings that emitted an unpleasant roar.
There was something even more surprising.
“The sound changed…”
As aura bloomed from her sword, the noisy racket subsided. Furthermore, a beautiful melody began to flow from her blade.
It was a harmony of sounds so beautiful it could be considered a masterpiece. It felt like listening to the accompaniment of a beautiful ballad, as if a famous singer might start singing to the music at any moment.
“A person of high standing plays such an enchanting piece!”
Dien savored the beautiful music while his eyes tracked her movements. Her nimble footwork and the fierce tip of her blade were remarkable. She slaughtered them quickly with agile movements, and each time she did, they turned into black ash and disappeared.
Dien gasped in surprise at the sight.
“They really aren’t human! Is that a monster?”
Seeing them vanish like smoke, Dien was certain they were monsters. Although he had only read about it in books, disappearing into nothingness was a characteristic possessed by specific types of monsters.
Whish, whish!
The sight of the Doppelgangers turning into ash and scattering like falling leaves made it look as if a pile of soot was being ground into powder by a great wave.
As the battle continued for several minutes, Dien remained unable to close his mouth, marveling at her swordsmanship.
“Whew…”
Shilona moved among the Doppelgangers like a falling leaf before pausing to catch her breath.
Only three Doppelgangers remained. She lunged at the remaining ones without hesitation.
“Let’s end this.”
At that moment, Dien tilted his head in confusion.
“Hmm? That’s strange.”
A different sound was coming from the Doppelganger in the very back compared to the others. It was a tone with a strangely different vibration. It was still an unpleasant noise, but it sounded as if it were being produced by a different instrument.
That was when it happened.
Shilona, who had cut down two Doppelgangers like a flash of lightning, thrust her sword into the chest of the last Doppelganger.
A dull sensation traveled up her hand!
Thud!
“Huh?”
“Watch out!”
The Doppelganger, which she thought would turn to ash, did not change even after taking a direct hit from Shilona’s sword.
Startled, she tried to withdraw her blade, but the sword stuck in its chest wouldn’t budge.
At the same time, the melody reaching Dien’s ears stopped abruptly.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
The Doppelganger did not miss the opening and threw a punch that sent Shilona flying.
“There was an undead mixed in.”
Her body flew helplessly and crashed into a wall, and then her head slumped toward the ground. She had lost consciousness from the undead’s strike.
Even with a sword stuck in its chest, the undead lunged forward to finish her off.
“Hey!”
Deciding he could no longer just watch, Dien picked up a sword lying nearby and rushed toward the undead. There was no time to delay.
Zing!
As he took up the sword, a vibration resonated in Dien’s ears. A bright light soon erupted from his hand. As he lowered his stance and aimed the sword, invisible strings began to be tuned. Dien felt the sound with his entire body and slashed at the undead’s neck without hesitation.
Slash!
It wasn’t quite at Shilona’s level, but a fairly decent stroke sound rang out. The light pulsating in his hand surged through the sword, and the undead, hit directly by the light, screamed and thrashed.
“Graaaaah!”
After thrashing for a long while, the undead finally stumbled and collapsed.
“That was a close call. Just a little later and it would have been disaster.”
He wondered where such courage had come from. He had rushed in blindly just to save a person, but fortunately, he was able to take down the monster easily.
After confirming the undead was no longer moving, Dien hurried over to the fallen Shilona.
“Are you all right?”
Fortunately, when he placed a hand near her nose, he could tell she was still breathing.
“Whew…”
As he let out a sigh of relief, Nue entered the alley.
“Young Master! Aack! What is this!”
Nue screamed in terror upon seeing the fallen undead.
“Ugh… Young Master!”
Nue, who found the stench from the undead’s body foul, stomped her feet at a distance and urgently called out to Dien.
“Please come out quickly! Don’t stay there!”
“Um, just a moment…”
Dien shook his head at her urging and pointed toward Shilona. Nue followed his hand with her eyes, discovered the fallen Shilona, and was once again shocked.
“Oh my goodness! What happened here!”
“Let’s take her with us.”
“What?”
“We can’t just leave her like this.”
Dien’s eyes sparkled as he looked down at the unconscious Shilona. Her sword had clearly produced a beautiful melody the likes of which he had never heard before.
“Perhaps…”
“Help me move her, Nue!”
At Dien’s words, Nue let out a whining sound but entered the alley anyway, and they headed toward the House of Portran with Shilona supported between them.
***
Shilona only opened her eyes after half a day had passed.
“Ugh…”
Splints were attached all over her body, with bandages wrapped over them. A groan escaped her lips involuntarily, but she managed to endure the pain and sat up, grabbing the sword placed beside her.
Then the door opened.
“Are you awake?”
Startled, she snapped her head toward the direction of the sound. As her blurry vision cleared, Dien’s figure came into view.
“Where is this, and who are you?”
Shilona’s face was full of wariness as she pointed her sword at Dien. At her question, Dien held up both hands and spoke with a shrug.
“This doesn’t seem like the right way to treat your savior.”
“Answer me! Are you a servant of the devil or not!”
“A devil? Pfft!”
Dien couldn’t help but burst out laughing at her unexpected words. However, Shilona frowned, seemingly displeased by his laughter.
“If I had intended to harm you in the first place, I wouldn’t have treated you. The potions poured over your body alone cost as much as three months of our family’s operating expenses.”
“You should stay lying down. If more treatment costs are incurred, I might have to kick you out.”
A fierce staring contest ensued between the two. The tip of her sword wavered, but the multicolored aura blooming from it remained steady.
After a moment, Shilona was the first to lower her blade.
“How long have I been lying here?”
“I brought you here late yesterday afternoon, so about half a day has passed.”
Shilona nodded at Dien’s words. Looking at her treated body and the situation, there was no room to doubt that Dien was her savior.
However, since she fought a secret war against demons every day, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down in any situation. She never knew when or how a seed of the devil might approach her.
Dien spoke to the contemplative Shilona.
“What were those things you were fighting? They looked like monsters.”
They were beings his internal energy had reacted to. He was certain they were monsters, but he still had many questions. Dien pulled over a chair to listen to her answer from up close.
“Doppelgangers. They’re monsters.”
It was a concise answer. Shilona kept her mouth shut as if she would say nothing more.
“Then why were you fighting them?”
“I can’t say.”
“You don’t even know why you were fighting monsters… Are you perhaps a Heresy Inquisitor?”
“Why do you ask such a thing?”
Her answers to subsequent questions were the same: silence. Dien shook his head at her unwavering, guarded attitude.
“To think you’d be so suspicious of someone who risked their life to save you. Don’t you realize you’re the one who seems more suspicious?”
“What did you say? Ugh…”
Stung by Dien’s probing words, Shilona flared up but felt a sudden surge of pain and collapsed back onto the bed.
As she collapsed, Dien approached her silently and wiped the cold sweat from her face with a towel. Seeing him care for her sincerely rather than harming her, Shilona finally muttered with an embarrassed expression.
“Anyway, thank you for saving me.”
As her attitude softened, Dien nodded with a faint smile.
“I assume you’re a member of some high-ranking household? You don’t seem intimidated even inside a noble’s estate.”
“I suppose you could say that.”
Unable to reveal that she was a Saintess, she avoided his gaze and spoke vaguely.
“I am Dien Portran. My family serves as officials under the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Delos. Now, may I ask for the name of such a high-ranking person?”
‘If I tell him my name like this, I might be caught!’
If she revealed her real name, her identity would surely be exposed. As Shilona racked her brains, Dien misunderstood her reaction and chuckled.
It was true that he was captivated by the melody coming from her swordsmanship, but that wasn’t why he had saved her.
“Ha… I guess there’s no helping your attitude. I won’t ask anymore, so just pay the price and leave. The treatment fee is ten thousand gold coins.”
“Wh-what? A few potions and first aid cost what…?”
Shilona asked back in shock at the highway-robbery amount. Ten thousand gold coins was enough to build the entire House of Portran manor.
“I’m sorry, but it’s a fair amount.”
“How so!”
“Naturally, I have to calculate my hazard pay. I risked my life to save you, so isn’t that a reasonable calculation?”
Shilona’s eyes widened at Dien’s sudden switch to informal speech.
“Why are you suddenly speaking so casually?”
“As I said, I’m a noble, and since I don’t know your identity, casual speech is appropriate. We seem to be roughly the same age, anyway.”
Dien didn’t back down for a second.
“Ha!”
Shilona burst out laughing, having been bested by Dien. But Dien continued regardless.
“And if you were from a high-ranking family, the kingdom would have been turned upside down last night. Yet it’s perfectly quiet even now that a day has passed. Either you lied, or you’re a noble or royal from another kingdom on a pilgrimage. But I don’t think you lied. I’ve lived long enough to have a good eye for people.”
The comment about having lived long was grating, but Shilona listened to him without a word as his points hit the mark.
“If you don’t want to reveal your identity, I won’t force you.”
Dien’s eyes shone as he looked at Shilona.
“But I must collect the price for saving your life.”
“But…”
“If you can’t give me gold, then give me something else.”
“Wh-what do you…?”
Shilona turned her head at Dien’s words. His eyes were filled with a strange intensity. He caught his breath and looked directly at Shilona.
“Teach me swordsmanship.”
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