Episode 138
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 138
“Does this operation look like a joke to you?”
A city guard, found seriously injured on the cold ground, was carried away. Lian was screaming at the captain of the guard.
“Didn’t I tell you to check until the very last second to make sure there were no holes in the perimeter?!”
Apparently, the captain of the guard had grown complacent, thinking his only person of interest was a young woman.
He seemed to have approached the operation with the old-fashioned—though by the standards of this era, common—idea that an ordinary woman could be caught by simply standing still and grabbing her. But what could he do? Alma Heron was, of course, no ordinary woman.
One of the guards was discovered late, sprawled on the cold ground with a fatal wound that had barely missed his heart.
The path he had been guarding didn't lead directly to the coast, but with a slight detour, one could reach the port. The delay in finding him had wasted too much time; she would have more than enough time to have already arrived.
Grinding his teeth, Lian finally landed a few punches on the captain's face. The captain, who seemed to have some sense of shame despite his incompetence, took the blows quietly without a word.
Colin, who had been trailing the fuming Lian, glanced around nervously and asked.
“So… what happens now?”
By all accounts, the operation was a failure. But the soldiers had not yet been dismissed. And at some point, the young master and lady had disappeared.
Lian glanced toward the spot where Elysia’s horse had been and muttered.
“She said she’s going to catch her.”
“Pardon?”
“Said she’s going to trace the path back from where that idiot was attacked.”
Lian recalled the look on Elysia’s face when she heard that Alma Heron had rendered one of the guards unconscious and escaped through that route.
Her face had crumpled into a scowl, and she let out a string of profanities so vulgar that even Lian was taken aback.
“Fucking hell, you incompetent bastard…”
Sighing deeply, Elysia kicked a random twig on the ground and ran her hands messily through the back of her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and spoke to Lian.
“It’s fucked up, but… I guess this happens sometimes. Nothing’s ever easy.”
“…What are you planning to do now?”
Evan, leading his horse, swept her up and placed her in the saddle in front of him. As the horse neighed and reared its front legs, her face, which had seemed to pale for a second, twisted into a smirk as she replied.
“Let’s just chase her down.”
*
Arriving with Evan at the alley the injured guard had been watching, Elysia fitted a monocle over her right eye without dismounting.
SYSTEM: Active Skill ‘Observation’ has been activated. (Duration: 15 minutes)
The first thing that caught her eye was the trail of blood that had flowed down the slope.
“A horse… and a carriage, too. She must have had a fair bit of luggage, even after getting rid of most of it.”
“How do you know?”
“The wheel tracks.”
A pool of blood, hoofprints that had stepped in it, and a straight line that looked like something had been dragged through it. In their haste, the carriage wheels must have rolled right through the blood.
The bleeding hadn't been severe, so the trail wasn't long enough to be of much help in tracking. Elysia quickly measured the width of the alley.
SYSTEM: 128 cm
She immediately looked up at the walls. There were scrape marks. Alright, now think… Her mind began to calculate with a speed that surprised even herself.
‘If the carriage just barely fit through this alley, then the other alleys she chose must be of a similar width.’
This alley was 128 cm wide. With scrape marks on both walls, the carriage must be about the same. Her mind was working with terrifying speed.
Condition 1: The width must be at least 128 cm. Condition 2: It must connect to this alley and lead toward the port.
She recalled the map she had memorized as if it were a photograph. The complex calculation was over in an instant.
Elysia drew red circles over all the alleys leading to the port on her mental map. Then, applying the scale, she erased every alley that didn't meet the conditions. Only one path remained.
“Right!”
Without a shred of doubt, Evan immediately turned the horse in the direction she indicated. It had been less than thirty seconds since they had arrived at the first alley.
The horse’s pace quickened. The salty sea breeze brushed against their cheeks. She ignored the rapidly changing scenery.
Her head throbbed from the effort of finding, matching, and reconstructing the correct path, but she didn't have a moment to even blink. Her eyes were fixed solely on the road ahead.
The cries of seabirds grew closer. The moment they passed through the last alley Elysia had identified, they saw the port, cluttered with cargo unloaded by merchant guilds, and in front of it, a single wagon that looked as if it had been hastily abandoned. Elysia’s eyes narrowed.
A 128 cm wide wagon. It was her.
Before Elysia could say a word, Evan spurred the horse toward the smallest, least conspicuous pier closest to their position.
Startled by the horse’s sudden dash, Elysia let out a scream and asked, panting for breath.
“What was that for?!”
“We’re too late.”
Following Evan’s gaze, Elysia’s expression hardened. A small boat, having just set sail, was about to leave the port.
Her body moved before her mind could think. Stepping onto the saddle, Elysia leaped down.
“What are you doing— It’s dangerous!!!”
Evan reached for her frantically, but let out a sigh of relief when he saw Elysia land perfectly and start running forward. He quickly reined in the horse.
Dodging missing planks in the pier, Elysia ran to the very edge, knelt on one knee, and reached for her inventory.
You think I’ll just let you get away? I’ll catch you, even if it kills me.
Item Description: Sniper Rifle. Recommended for long-range, one-on-one combat. Damage (1,000)
A massive rifle materialized in her hands. Gripping it in a perfect stance, Elysia closed one eye and peered through the scope.
Where should I aim? The mast, or the sail? Her wandering gaze settled as she made her decision. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
‘Bang!’
With the sharp crack of a bullet tearing through the air, the joint connecting the mast and the sail shattered. The boat, suddenly losing power, came to a halt and listed to one side.
Elysia stared coldly at the dumbfounded workers scrambling in confusion, then rose to her feet.
Unlike the land, where the sky had completely cleared, the sea was still hazy with lingering fog. As the men tried to connect a new sail, Elysia shouted, not even thinking about what she was saying, guided only by instinct.
“You… are surrounded!!!”
The men, who had been moving in unison, froze stiff. Evan, who had rushed to her side, also stared with wide eyes.
Huh? Really? Since when? But when he noticed the corner of Elysia’s awkwardly raised lip twitching, he immediately grasped the situation. She was bluffing with all her might.
“This is a joint operation between the House of Sylvester, which commands the strongest military in Löwe, and Count Linton of Alea. Even the city guard is cooperating.”
Elysia paused for a moment, then pointed to the area behind the small boat and yelled.
“Did you really think the navy wouldn’t be mobilized?”
“The… the navy?”
Seeing the men begin to waver, Evan let out a small smirk. For an improvisation, it was a pretty good way to rattle them. Standing beside Elysia, Evan announced with a deadpan expression.
“The navy has the authority to execute stowaways on the spot.”
“Heek…!”
“If you want to delay the moment of your death by even a second, you’d better turn back this way. Now.”
They had all heard the rumors about the House of Sylvester. The family had been the sword of Löwe for a hundred years, and Evan Sylvester was one of the two brothers who had brought a new phase to the magnetite war that had dragged on for that same century. It was impossible not to be afraid.
As the men stood there, unable to decide whether to attach the new sail or turn back, a head of navy-blue hair shot up from among them. Alma slapped the face of the first subordinate she saw and yelled, fuming.
“Are you fucking idiots really buying that?! There is no navy! Now attach the sail and get us out of here!”
“And if we all get our heads chopped off, are you going to take responsibility?”
“Y-Yeah…! W-What if they’re really there!”
Alma scoffed, running a hand through her hair as if in disbelief, and sneered.
“Why should I take responsibility? You got paid, so shut the fuck up and do as you’re told.”
A brief silence fell over the deck. In that moment, Elysia’s and Alma’s eyes met.
The moment she spotted her, Alma broke into a grotesque grin that seemed to stretch from ear to ear. It seemed partly to hide her rage, and partly as if she were anticipating something.
A chill ran down Elysia’s spine.
While Elysia was frozen by a sensation she couldn't explain, the people on the deck made their decision.
“I… I’m turning back.”
Slam! Alma threw the book she was holding and glared at her subordinates with murderous eyes. They flinched and froze, but soon began to move to change the direction of the sail.
At that moment, a loud bang echoed, and the wood of the ship’s bow splintered. The frozen men turned to look.
“Turn. The. Ship.”
A rifle was in Alma’s hand as she let out a hysterical laugh. She screamed at the petrified sailors.
“Turn it around!!!”
A heavy silence descended. Bang! The trigger was pulled again. The head of the man closest to her exploded. The pants of the man standing next to him could be seen darkening with a spreading stain.
Smiling at the deathly pale Elysia as if to show off, Alma pointed the muzzle at someone else.
“Turn it.”
“…”
“Should I blow your head off too?”
The threatened man raised both hands and obediently walked toward the mast as she commanded. Panting, Alma confirmed that the ship’s direction had been changed, then dropped the hand holding the gun as if exhausted.
In that instant, the man who had been adjusting the sail while glancing nervously at Elysia let out a roar and charged at her.