Laying the Groundwork (2)
"Alright. Now we head down into that basement."
Late at night, three huddled figures squatted in an alley on the outskirts of the estate, shifting restlessly as they kept out of the moonlight.
"We need to get a count of the magical beasts inside and lay the groundwork ahead of time."
"This feels like a stealth game. My heart's racing."
"Um… why did you bring me along?"
"Viscount Bjorn should be at the manor right now, so we need to get in and out while he's gone."
At that very moment, Viscount Bjorn was letting his guard down completely, drinking himself senseless alongside Darian. With the Viscount away from his post, executing their carefully laid plan meant infiltrating the basement—a basement currently guarded by a considerable number of soldiers.
"Got it. So you've got a plan?"
"Excuse me? I asked why you dragged me here."
"The basement where the beasts are kept is under guard. We could use concealment magic, but that slippery snake of a Viscount might have set up magic-detection tools. Better to scout the place without magic if we can help it."
"What a waste."
"Hello? Could you stop ignoring me?"
"On top of that, our faces are already known around here. Getting in won't be easy."
"True. If the Count's siblings suddenly show up, even Viscount Bjorn would get suspicious. And you're pretty famous right now."
"Yeah."
"What we need is someone who can walk right in without raising any eyebrows—someone the Viscount wouldn't even think twice about."
"Someone like that would be…"
"…Why are you all staring at me all of a sudden?"
"I-I brought food… hehe…"
Why am I even doing this…?
And so Tene—the carefully deliberated result of selecting "the most suitable person who could walk in openly without drawing suspicion"—awkwardly held up a basket filled with bread, jerky, and diluted wine, offering an equally awkward smile.
Tene's true identity was a dragon, but her current cover was simply that of a maid employed by the Count's household, which made her a perfect fit for the job. Even if something went wrong, she was a dragon—no problem. She was, in every sense, the ideal operative for this plan.
Of course, at no point in this entire process had anyone actually asked Tene for her permission.
"…Oh yeah? Food's here?"
"Nice. Ahem… ahem…"
The two soldiers who had raised their spears, initially taking her for a suspicious figure, promptly lowered their tips and broke into grins.
"Well, that's always welcome. Hmm. You from the Count's place?"
"Y-yes… that's right. C-can I go in?"
"Of course, miss. Go right ahead."
"Th-thank you…"
The moment she got the all-clear from the two men, Tene scurried inside as fast as her legs would carry her.
"Whew…"
Just as she let out a sigh of relief at having made it in without incident—
"Hey! Hold on a second!"
"Neh—?! I mean, yes? W-what is it?"
Hhk?! Did I get caught?
One of the guards who had been quiet until a moment ago called out and started toward her. Tene's heart lurched.
"It's dark in here. I'll show you the way."
"Ah… th-that's… I'm fine, really…"
Okay, not caught… thank goodness.
She had been bracing for the worst, but realizing it was nothing serious, she let herself relax again.
"These stairs are pitch black—people trip all the time. Come on, we'll go together."
A light touch—
"…!?"
Eeeeek! Where does this guy think he's putting his hand?!
Wearing a slimy, unpleasant smile, the man used the darkness as an excuse to casually rest his hand on Tene's waist.
She might have looked like a girl right now, but Tene had been born and raised as a man. That sticky, lust-soaked touch made her skin crawl with pure revulsion.
"Ah… haha…! Um, I'm fine… I can go by myself."
"I said it's fine. I'll guide you!"
"I-I'm really okay!"
Hold it…! Hold it together…! If I hit this guy, there won't even be a body left to find—he'll be in pieces…!
Tene kept insisting she was fine and declining the escort, but whether the soldier was dense or doing it on purpose, he stuck to her like glue. She desperately wanted to crack him one good knuckle-rap on the head—bonk!—but a genuine knuckle-rap from her wouldn't stop at a simple bonk, so she forced a smile onto her face even as goosebumps prickled up her arms.
"Hey, cutie. Working at the manor tough, huh?"
Is he insane?! Did he just call me cutie? Just now? And what is with this hand?! I think I'm gonna throw up…!
Hit with the kind of moldy, decades-out-of-date pickup lines that should have been retired ages ago, her face went a sickly shade of green.
"If you've got a minute, wanna hang out for a bit?"
A squeeze—
"…!?"
Just as Tene was barely managing to keep her boiling rage in check, the soldier's hand slid down from her waist and closed around the soft curve of her rear, groping it openly.
In that instant, something precarious that had been holding on by a thread inside Tene's mind went snap.
"Nice and soft back here too, huh? What, first time? Cute. You frozen up on me?"
"…I'm done."
"…Huh? What'd you just say?"
"You're fucking dead, you bastard!"
THWACK—
"Guhk?!?"
Unable to hold back any longer, Tene drove a finger into the solar plexus of the still-grinning, completely clueless soldier. He made a bizarre noise and lifted clean off the ground.
Thud—
"Haa…! Haa…! Ugh, that was disgusting! Just die already!"
The soldier crumpled face-first onto the stairs and blacked out on the spot. Even with her reason gone, Tene had clung to one desperate resolve—don't kill him—and so she had flicked only her ring finger, lightly, instead of throwing a fist.
"Ahhh, that felt good! I'm a man, you asshole!"
She bellowed out all the frustration she'd been bottling up, her face burning scarlet with sheer humiliation.
…Thump.
"…Huh?"
Tumble—tumble—tumble—
"Wait—wait wait wait?! He can't do that!"
The soldier's body tipped backward, and still unconscious, he began rolling down the stairs in a noisy, bouncing tumble.
Crunch—
"Oof…! That has to hurt… oof…"
With every step he bounced over, something cracked or twisted, and Tene flinched, wincing in spite of herself.
"What was that?! What's going on?!"
"Hic?!"
But she had already made far too much noise. At the sound of things breaking and thudding, the other guard from the entrance came scrambling over—and took in the entire scene.
"Wh-what the hell is this…?! Hey! You! What the hell did you do?!"
"Uh… uh… so… um… that is…"
Confronted with his colleague lying unconscious after a tumble down the stairs, the soldier leveled his spear tip at her and demanded an explanation. Caught, and blindsided by how fast everything had gone wrong, Tene froze up, stammering.
"Th-the stairs! He must have missed a step! He just… rolled down all of a sudden!"
I'm screwed. Who's going to buy that…
The excuse she finally managed was pure nonsense—that he'd simply fallen down the stairs on his own—and Tene's face crumpled as she braced for the worst—
"…Yeah, figures. Dumbass. Who the hell trips on stairs?"
"…Huh?"
He bought it?
—only for her eyes to go wide when the soldier swallowed the story whole.
"H-he was… trying to show me the way, and then he just… rolled down…"
"Eh, the guy's an idiot. Don't worry about it. Just leave trash like him where he is. We'll clean him up later."
"I-is that really okay?"
"Of course, miss."
"Ha… haha…"
Miraculously, the soldier bought her improvised excuse without question, and Tene was able to breathe easy once more.
However.
"By the way, miss."
"…Yes?"
"How old are you, huh?"
A slow slide of a hand—
"……"
The second soldier approached in exactly the same fashion, wrapping a hand around her waist and dropping his voice low. Tene couldn't even open her mouth. It wasn't shock so much as pure, speechless disbelief.
"Manor life's rough, right? Wanna take a nice long break with big brother here?"
"…Haa."
"First time? C'mon, don't be so tense~"
"I used to be a guy too, but… men are really just…"
"What?"
THWACK—
"Ngk?!"
Clatter-crash—thud-thud—
The second one was a little easier. She flicked her finger with practiced ease.
"Wow. He goes down the stairs really well."
Watching yet another soldier tumble noisily down the steps, Tene found she could smile brightly now.
And so, after making her way down the long, narrow, pitch-dark staircase, Tene finally reached the basement.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"What did you do?!"
The moment she set foot downstairs, a swarm of soldiers surrounded her, shouting. The basement had carried every last crash and bang, and the men had come running, wondering what had happened on the stairs.
Tene took in the scene for a beat, then opened her mouth.
"Um, excuse me…! These two gentlemen rolled down the stairs~"
She no longer trembled. Putting on a vaguely strained expression, she dragged the two battered, unconscious men into view as she spoke.
Naturally, the soldiers in the basement believed every word.
That day, Tene harmed a human being for the first time.
Strangely enough, what she felt wasn't guilt so much as a deep, satisfying sense of relief.
And she also learned something else: put a bunch of men together with no women around, and they get even dumber than you'd expect.
Of course, Rosaria—a military veteran—had already known that fact all too well.