Chapter 168 : Two Years Later (6)
Two Years Later (6)
At Estelle's claim that she wasn't a suspicious person, Merry was appalled.
Merry, who had grown up in an orphanage without parents, had been taught the concept of chastity by Silia.
So she knew very well what Estelle was doing right now.
"How can you say you're not suspicious when you steal someone else's things and sniff them?"
"Huh?"
Estelle looked at the humanoid figure in her hand, confused.
Ah, now that she thought about it, Merry wasn't exactly wrong.
With that thought, Estelle put the humanoid figure back on the bed.
"Besides... from the moment you caught my sword strike, you can't be just an ordinary person!"
At present, Estelle was lightly blocking Merry's sword strike with one hand.
Anyone could see that it took extraordinary courage and skill to grab the blade with both hands without getting injured.
Even if it had just been a child's clumsy swing, a normal person would have recoiled at the sight of a blade.
"Be honest. Who are you, really?"
Estelle replied frankly.
"I'm the Princess."
"What?"
Did she mean the Princess of this Imperial Court?
If that were the case, she remembered hearing about her from big sis Silia.
The Princess was the daughter of the Emperor—the one who ruled this Imperial Court.
The Emperor was known as someone who governed the people with dignity, and the Princess was his successor.
That's why Merry pressed Estelle, who claimed to be the Princess.
"Can someone who's the Princess break into other people's rooms, steal their belongings, and sniff them?"
"Well..."
"And just looking at the skill you showed in catching my sword just now—You're definitely an intruder!"
Originally, Estelle had nothing to do with blades and had never trained, not even once.
At least, not until she started occasionally visiting Rio for training a few years back.
Since the blade was Rio's main interest, Estelle joined her to fit in.
And perhaps because Rio had been her training partner, Estelle's skills could no longer be considered ordinary.
She wasn't sure exactly to what extent, but it was enough that she could handle a child's sword with just her fingers.
"Besides, how did you know I was an elf? I should be disguised with my magitech device. Suspicious... So suspicious!"
"C-calm down!"
In the end, Merry's suspicion grew so extreme that she couldn't be soothed by words alone.
Just as Estelle resolved to be more careful next time, something happened.
"...!!"
Something was flying toward them.
Though not visible, Estelle sensed it clearly.
"Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?"
As Estelle wore a dazed expression, Merry was about to ask when Estelle suddenly pulled Merry into an embrace.
"Get down!"
Kwaang!—
In the very moment that she hugged Merry and lowered her head, something like an arrow flew right over their heads.
Something shot through the building's wall, clearly aiming for their throats.
The trajectory left no doubt it was aimed directly at them.
"What... is that?"
What had shot through like an arrow was a massive claw, and Merry's eyes widened in horror at the sight.
Estelle was just as startled by the sudden ambush, but she maintained a calmness, as if used to such situations.
"I don't know exactly either... but it seems we're being targeted. No, to be precise...."
As the Princess, it wasn't unusual to be targeted.
But remembering the direction the claw had come from, Estelle had a different thought.
The angle of the attack was more directed at Merry than herself.
In other words, she wasn't the target—Merry was.
"Is this your doing?"
"If I had done it, why would I save you?"
Although Estelle looked like the most suspicious person in this room, there was no guarantee it was her doing.
"Hmm..."
So Merry was lost for words.
Estelle immediately used her Mind's Eye to analyze the claw embedded in the hallway.
"At first glance, it looks like a monster's claw, but it's not. Something similar to a monster is targeting us."
"What are you talking about?"
"Also, the form of the claw is faint. There's only one thing that can attack like this."
Where could there be a monster that wasn't a monster but resembled one in appearance and movement?
Drawing on a lifetime of knowledge, Estelle figured out what it was.
"A spirit."
"A... spirit?"
"In any case, it's dangerous—let's get out of here!"
"Don't drag me!"
As Estelle lifted her forcibly, Merry protested.
Shuuuk!―
"Eek!!"
At that moment, another claw attack flew at them, frightening Merry into compliance.
"But wait, did you just say... spirit?"
"That's right!"
"But I've never seen a spirit that radiates such an evil aura!"
"Not all spirits in this world are good. Spirits even dwell in the demon realm, you know."
"Demon realm?"
Merry had also heard of the demon realm.
She remembered that big sis Silia and the other special task force members had lived there before.
It was said that everything that could torment a person existed in that hellish place.
"Spirits of darkness. Those are what's attacking us now."
"If that's really a spirit, then we're in trouble! Spirits can always erase a presence, so Older brother Louis said even he couldn't easily track one!"
Spirits had no form, no smell, and no scent.
A high-ranked spirit could even wage powerful attacks while remaining hidden.
"But why is it after us? And why are spirits that should be in the demon realm here...?"
"That, I don't really..."
Given the suddenness of it, Estelle didn't know either.
But one thing was clear: the spirits were after Merry, not herself.
And if spirits had appeared, someone must have summoned them.
Which meant someone had targeted Merry on purpose—but why target a seemingly normal girl like her?
"Wait, you said you're an elf, right?"
"And...?"
Didn't she just say she was hiding her true form with a disguise magitech device?
Then underneath, she would be a pointy-eared elf.
"So, it was true what the Imperial Court's Magic Tower investigated."
"We have to run! We can talk after we get to safety...."
Swiik!―
Suddenly, something huge phased through the wall.
It didn't physically smash through; it just passed through as if it were a ghost with no substance.
It took the form of a purple, glowing eagle, its body so translucent one had to wonder if it even had a physical form.
Had it looked like a regular eagle, it might be considered a spirit—but this was different.
Unlike natural, benign spirits, this creature radiated a vicious aura, its form terrifying enough to tear people apart.
"I've never seen a spirit like that before..."
High receptivity to spirits was a hallmark of elves.
Yet even Merry, as an elf, was horrified at the sight of the eagle spirit.
"That's to be expected. That thing should have stayed in the demon realm!"
Something fired from the eagle spirit's claws again.
As several more claws, identical to the last, targeted Merry once more, Estelle pulled her closer.
"Eek!"
One of the spirit's attacks grazed Merry's bangs.
It seemed she'd barely dodged, but one of the claws brushed against Merry's chest.
Merry dropped the pendant that had hung around her neck.
Apparently, it was her disguise magitech device, since Merry's appearance changed at once.
"So that's your true form."
"Ah..."
Her hair, once brown, turned blonde, and her human-like ears grew pointed.
Exposed as an elf in her true form, Merry was shocked.
Just then, the eagle spirit came flying toward them.
Where it had previously used its claws as ranged weapons, now it was trying to use them for a close attack.
At that moment, Estelle drew a sword from a suit of armor displayed in the hallway.
Gripping the blade, Estelle used her Mind's Eye to read her opponent's movements as the spirit charged in.
For most, a spirit would not be visible without spiritual sensitivity, but in front of the Mind's Eye, receptivity didn't matter.
Moreover, using the Mind's Eye, information about the spirit's movements and weaknesses was transmitted to Estelle's mind.
With all that information organized, Estelle's sword was enveloped in aura.
"Got you!"
Evading the swiping claws like flowing water, Estelle stabbed the spirit squarely in the chest.
With no sound, the spirit vanished.
Merry lost all words, stunned at how neatly Estelle had purged the evil spirit.
"Luckily, it wasn't a strong one."
For a being from the demon realm, it was relatively weak.
Relieved at this, Estelle turned to look after Merry.
"Ah..."
But suddenly, Estelle staggered.
"What's wrong...?"
In truth, Estelle hadn't dodged the spirit's attack perfectly.
In the midst of her turning, a claw had grazed her shoulder.
That claw was poisoned.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"...."
Estelle slumped to the ground.
Having lost all strength to even answer, her eyes dimmed.
"W-what do I do? At least she's still conscious..."
The problem was the poison.
Suspicious she may have been, but she didn't seem bad by nature.
Merry, desperate, summoned the spirit of wind to help lift Estelle.
"Help me carry this big sis."
Unable to lift Estelle herself, she had to borrow the power of a spirit.
At the moment she was about to run to big sis Silia—
"Again...!"
She sensed a presence very similar to the recent spirit nearby.
If she ran to the banquet hall for Silia now, the spirits would definitely follow.
That would ruin the banquet and cause great harm to Sir Kelian as well, who was responsible for the event.
"Come to think of it, this person introduced herself as the Princess."
If she really was the Princess, this was no ordinary disaster.
If the Princess collapsed and was found in this mansion, it would be terrible for the grown-ups and the other unnies.
'What should I do?'
That meant she couldn't just dash to the banquet hall with Estelle like this.
If she really was the Princess, the implications would be disastrous.
'Wait—one of my friends learned healing arts!'
Merry grabbed the disguise magitech device that had fallen to the ground.
The device operated, disguising her as a human again.
"Big Sis, I know it's uncomfortable, but please bear with me."
Merry placed the helmet of an armored suit over Estelle's face.
If she really was the Princess, her face couldn't be exposed.
Then Merry lifted the collapsed Estelle and ran.
She ran full speed toward the forest where their orphanage was.
"Huh?"
At that moment, Merry sensed something behind her.
There was no sound, no scent, yet the overpowering presence felt exactly like the earlier spirits.
This time, two eagle-form spirits were flying at her.
"Eek!"
Not only were they fast, but they fired poisonous claws at her from a distance.
Merry dreamed of becoming a knight, but she was nowhere near able to face enemies like these.
She recalled what Silia had taught her about what to do in such situations.
"Run!!"
But the spirits' flight was even faster than Merry's all-out sprint.
She dodged the claws as best she could.
If she weren't an elf with spiritual receptivity, she wouldn't have even perceived the claws and would have lost her life.
But as an elf, she managed to avoid a little.
"Ugh!"
But soon, one claw grazed her ankle as she tried to dodge.
Merry tumbled to the ground, dropping Estelle, who had been carried by the wind spirit.
If things went on like this, the spirits would harm Estelle.
But to her surprise, the spirits ignored Estelle and approached Merry.
Suddenly, Estelle's words came to her.
They really were targeting only her.
"I haven't even become a knight yet..."
Merry gripped her sword, but was in no state to stand against them.
Was this the end?
Kwajik!—
At that moment, a hole was blasted through the chests of the attacking spirits.
Something charged with aura had flown from afar, piercing them.
Kwoong!—
Next, a huge boulder infused with aura came crashing down, crushing them.
As the spirits vanished under the boulder, just as with Estelle's earlier strike, someone stood atop the rock.
"What on earth is going on here?"
Louis, known among the elves as de facto captain of the special task force, asked Merry.
"Louis big...."
But before she could answer, Merry collapsed, losing consciousness from the poison.