Uncomfortable Cohabitation (9)
I had hoped to finish the underground waterway subjugation without incident, but luck was not on my side.
We had just passed the vagrants and were moving into the next sector, then the one after that, when we ran into a group of suspicious people.
These were nothing like the homeless. Their clothes alone were enough to raise alarms, and their behavior was even more so.
“Ha… where did these guys even come from…?”
I asked, fretting, but the young lord answered with complete composure.
“Who knows? Well, we’ll just have to take them down.”
Ten suspicious figures cloaked in black robes and hoods began to regard us as enemies.
Their attire and actions were far too shady to simply walk past.
Especially their actions…
Unlike the vagrants, they made no attempt to explain themselves. They went straight to hostility.
On top of that, they had been painting something red on the wall. The ominous aura radiating from it told me this was absolutely nothing good.
“Tch. Why are there people here?”
Hearing that from their side left me speechless. You’re the suspicious ones here!
“What should we do?”
I asked even though I already knew ignoring them was impossible. Now that we had crossed paths, a fight was inevitable.
“As a noble and knight of the kingdom, I cannot simply look the other way. Forgive me—will you fight alongside us?”
The young lord stepped forward, sword in hand.
“We cannot simply stand by and watch them commit such foul deeds.”
Priest Daniel advanced as well. I looked at Sister Mary, and she looked back at me.
“Looks like we have no choice.”
I gave an awkward smile. Once we had been discovered, there was no way they would leave us alone.
“Juli, stay behind me.”
Instead of charging ahead, my sister came to stand by Sister Mary and me.
“Yeah. Leave the front to the two of them. You protect us, Sis.”
Sister Mary gave a small nod and immediately cast a blessing—something she had never used while we were dealing with the slimes.
“A blessing? They’re clergy!”
The enemies moved fast. The moment they saw the blessing, they tried to break through and attack us. But the wall formed by our two frontliners was thick. The cramped space itself made it hard for them to push in, too…
A few of them leapt across the waterway to the opposite path and tried to circle around toward us.
I saw it and sneered.
“Ice Wall.”
Using the water from the channel, I raised a wall of ice and sealed them in.
“A mage!”
Did they really have to shout it like that? Seven of them struggled desperately to break through the front, but Young Lord Maximilian’s defense held firm.
“Tch. Fall back!”
Realizing the narrow space limited them to one-on-one or one-on-two at best, they tried to shift to the side path again.
“I’ll take them.”
Priest Daniel leapt high and cut off the black-robed figures. Their defeat was already plain, yet they still refused to flee.
I kept two or three spells ready so I could cast at any moment. Whatever they tried, I would handle it!
I saw the ones trapped behind the ice wall trying to force their way out. I poured holy power into the ice and reshaped it. Crack, crack—the ice grew, forming sharp, spike-like points that drove inward. The growing ice threatened the lives of the black-robed men enclosed within; they desperately tried to smash it.
But ice saturated with holy power would not break.
“What the hell is this?!”
“Damn it! Nobody said there’d be enemies like this!”
Had they been deceived as well? I couldn’t tell.
“If you stay quiet, we might even spare your lives.”
I spoke calmly in their direction. Of the three, two froze; one still tried frantically to escape.
“Sis, can you knock that one out?”
“Knock him out? Can’t I just kill him?”
“Killing’s fine.”
“Okay.”
My sister hopped across to the other side and drove her sword straight through the noisy one. The mana-edged blade took the black-robed man’s life in a single thrust. The remaining two went deathly quiet.
“I’ve got these two secured. Just finish off the rest.”
The moment the words left my mouth, Priest Daniel and Young Lord Maximilian moved faster.
Seeing that, the black-robed figure at the very rear tried to flee. I unleashed the spell I had prepared.
I sent a blade of wind at his ankles, but he jumped as if he had expected it and dodged. I hadn’t really thought I would catch him in one shot anyway.
I fired wind blades in rapid succession.
Still, I failed to achieve my goal. One of the black-robed men fighting Priest Daniel suddenly threw himself into the path of my magic, taking the hit instead. Were they willing to throw their lives away just to let him escape?
“I’ve got him.”
Sister Mary spoke from beside me. A brilliant light flared ahead, and chains of light bound the fleeing man’s body.
“Damn it!”
An ominous aura began to pour from the chained black-robed figure. The dangerous energy made my skin crawl. We were too far for most of my spells…
Powerful lightning magic was hard to use at this range. A thunderbolt would be blocked by the low ceiling, and firing it forward would just scatter the charge…
While I hesitated, the young lord finished the black-robed man who had been blocking him and closed on the one trying to flee. He struck the man’s head with the pommel of his sword and knocked him out cold. The ominous aura immediately dissipated.
I finally relaxed enough to survey the surroundings.
Of the ten black-robed figures, only three remained alive.
“What in the world…?”
Who were these people? And what had they been trying to do here? At the spot where the black-robed group had gathered, there was a drawing that radiated an unsettling feeling.
It looked something like a magic circle, and it reeked of blood—so it had probably been drawn with blood.
“Black magic, maybe?”
None of us had ever seen anything like it, so we couldn’t be sure.
The young lord brought over the unconscious black-robed man with his hands bound, and Priest Daniel brought the two who had been trapped behind the ice wall.
“You two. Explain.”
The young lord’s expression was deadly serious. As a noble of the kingdom, this was not something he could simply overlook.
From the rambling explanations the two of them gave, it seemed they were claiming they had nothing to do with it.
“S-so, you see, we just… we just got tempted by the money!”
“P-please, spare us!”
The young lord looked grimly at the unconscious man who appeared to be their leader.
“It doesn’t look like we can resolve this on our own.”
“Pardon?”
“Miss Julian, Miss Emma—please return to the manor at once.”
His face was far too solemn.
“Unfortunately, this is not something we can handle casually. We will need to go above and summon the guards or knights.”
But what did that have to do with us leaving?
“If you remain here, you will likely be questioned as witnesses.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
What was the problem with that? The young lord led my sister and me a short distance away and spoke quietly.
“Miss Mary and Daniel have clear identities, so they should be fine. But Miss Julian and Miss Emma, whose identities are less certain, could face considerable hardship.”
That…
“I’m a nun too, so shouldn’t it be fine?”
“Your identity as the Saintess could be exposed.”
His words startled me. He was right. If the kingdom tried to verify my identity and inquired at the temple, the temple would panic and almost certainly take action to retrieve me.
And that suspicious behavior from the temple would only invite further suspicion—a vicious cycle.
“Will you be all right?”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
The young lord thumped his chest as if telling me to trust him.
“Besides, with Daniel and Miss Mary here, things should work out somehow.”
I was a little worried about the three of them. But right now I needed to worry more about myself.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. Please go.”
The young lord said he would go up and bring people. For now, we left the underground waterway together.
Outside, the sun had already set.
“Will they be okay?”
I fretted over Priest Daniel and Sister Mary left below.
“They’ve already subdued everyone, and neither of them is weak. You needn’t worry. Please return to the manor at once.”
I had no choice but to leave, practically pushed out by the young lord.
“Miss Emma, please take Miss Julian…”
“Mm.”
Caught by my sister, I was dragged back to the manor.
When I still couldn’t bring myself to leave because I was worried about my companions, my sister spoke.
“No need to worry. Going back is how we help them.”
“That’s…”
I already understood from the young lord’s earlier explanation. Still, it nagged at me.
“That ominous magic circle… what was it…?”
“How would I know something even you don’t? Hurry home.”
My sister seemed a little annoyed.
“Okay…”
Back at the manor, I waited restlessly for the three of them to return. But even as the night grew deep, they did not come back.
“Juli, just sleep.”
My sister seemed worried about me.
“You’re not sleeping, Sis?”
“I’ll sleep when you do.”
Ugh… it looked like the matter was too big for them to return early.
“Fine, whatever.”
I obediently lay down on the bed. Then my sister came over and sat beside me.
“You don’t have to worry.”
“I’m not worried.”
I wanted not to be… but how could I not worry?
Sensing my anxiety, my sister quietly pulled me into a hug.
“Sleep with me…”
“N-no, that’s…”
It was terribly embarrassing, yet being held in family arms calmed my heart.
How pathetic… it was nothing major, so why was I like this?
Still, thanks to my sister, I was able to sleep.
And even in the morning, the three of them had not returned.
“Should we wait for breakfast?”
I debated whether to eat first or keep waiting.
If only I knew when they would arrive…
But if they had been questioned all night, they would be exhausted and hungry. I decided to prepare food so they could eat the moment they returned.
I finished preparing breakfast and waited for the young lord, Sister Mary, and Priest Daniel, but there was no word.
“Juli… hungry…”
A loud growl came from the stomach of my sister, who had been waiting beside me.
“Want to eat first, Sis?”
“Mm.”
There was plenty of food anyway… maybe I should eat first too?
I plated my sister’s portion and then my own. After always eating together every day, sitting down just the two of us felt lonely.
Eating in that warm, lively atmosphere with everyone really had been enjoyable…
After a late breakfast, I sat blankly, waiting and waiting for my companions to return.