Chapter 160: The Educating Guard (15)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: The Educating Guard (15)
A High-Rank Ninja disguised as a maid—Akiko exhaled the breath she had been holding the moment she stepped into her room. The secret ninja technique of temporarily suspending one's breath was highly effective, but it was taxing even for Akiko, who was currently hitting the wall between Mid-Rank and High-Rank.
It was even more difficult because she had suppressed her physical strength to avoid being detected as an Aura User. She didn't have to worry about the maid she shared the room with; she had already knocked her out with sleeping pills.
Once she caught her breath, Akiko began to tremble with anxiety.
There are two monsters in this mansion.
She had followed Iruna and Sma the moment she confirmed they were heading out. Her intention was to find an opportunity for a surprise attack.
Thanks to the mistresses of the house gossiping so loudly, everyone in the mansion knew that Iruna was pregnant. While the other maids chattered about becoming nannies to raise their social status, Akiko saw it as an opportunity.
I can never defeat Sma on my own.
She had heard that the subordinates she sent to gauge his strength had been taken down instead. She hadn't heard this from other colleagues or their subordinates, though.
She had eavesdropped when the master of the house was bragging, saying, "Let me tell you a legendary story." Even before he went to the clinic, she hadn't seen him injured, but after he returned, he seemed somewhat distracted, which she thought was her chance.
That was, until she saw Sma stripping Iruna’s clothes while they shared a kiss.
It wasn't her first time witnessing an act between a man and a woman. She had sneaked into the bedrooms of couples to assassinate them several times, so she knew well that the moment of climax was the best time to strike.
However, Iruna’s breasts, visible through her thin clothing, were larger than any woman’s she had ever seen, and Sma’s cock looked bigger, thicker, and harder than the dildos used for training.
If the silhouette through his clothes is that prominent, then in reality...
For a split second, Akiko’s thoughts strayed into lewd territory, and she suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold. Sma, who had been focused solely on Iruna, was now looking directly toward where she was hiding.
I’m caught!
Damn that ninja technique. It was a piece of trash technique that would break if one’s thoughts strayed for even a second. It shouldn't be called Ninjutsu; it deserved to be called "Crap-jutsu."
It had been agonizingly difficult to learn, and even now, it was causing trouble. Akiko had reactivated her Ninjutsu and fled back to her room.
In the process, she had felt Aura radiating from the upper floors of the mansion. It was because she had used the breath-holding technique during her flight that she was in this state now.
He didn't realize I was disguised as a maid, right? Ah, I need to do something now.
She had been so flustered that she had simply run straight back. Akiko channeled her Aura into her Mana Road, the internal pathway for Aura.
Immediately, a clone that looked exactly like Akiko appeared. An illusionary clone created by magic lacks substance and is easily detected by Aura, but a clone created through Ninjutsu is like a real human and is impossible to detect until it dies.
As the clone appeared, Akiko’s vision split into two. This was the reason a ninja who mastered the Clone Technique was promoted to High-Rank.
It was difficult for a human who had lived with a single field of vision their entire life to adapt to two or more. However, the advantage was that she could share the clone's five senses and control it directly to exert eighty percent of her original power.
"Ah. Ah. Mic test."
"Ah. Ah. Mic test."
"..."
"Good. The synchronization is perfect. Now, I just need to escape."
She finished the check, keeping her original body's mouth shut while making the clone speak. Akiko lay on the bed and closed her eyes. Then, her split vision merged into one.
As soon as the clone stepped outside, she spotted Sma in the hallway. He had been knocking on another maid's door when he noticed the clone.
"Hmm... what was your name again?"
"It's Akiko."
"Right. Akiko. Where are you going?"
"I felt the call of nature and was heading to the restroom."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, but it's quite urgent... please excuse me."
Akiko moved the clone quickly. She put on a desperate performance, rubbing her legs together, but Sma grabbed her wrist.
"You look like you're in a hurry. Let me help you."
"Ah, no. I cannot trouble my Master with such a thing."
"How is this a trouble?"
Akiko wanted to get away from him. No matter how perfect the clone was, there was a risk of being caught if she wasn't careful.
If she were a High-Rank Aura User, she could have even replicated physiological functions, but since she was still Mid-Rank, she couldn't actually discharge urine, which made her even more anxious.
But if she kept refusing, he would look at her suspiciously. Since it had come to this, she decided to lure him to the restroom and then slip out of the mansion.
"Then... I'll be in your care."
"All... right."
Sma’s eyes scanned the clone’s body from top to bottom.
I suppose he's looking at my figure since I'm in thin pajamas.
An ordinary virgin would have felt shame, but Akiko was a ninja. Even though she was inexperienced, she could endure this much.
He's a man obsessed with sex, so he might try to grope me.
That would actually be better. She would lure him to the restroom and suggest doing it there. It was just a clone, so it would vanish once he inserted himself, but by then, she would have already escaped the mansion.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with my body?"
"No. I just thought you had a nice figure. It's quite excellent."
"Then... would you grant me your grace, Master? Once I've taken care of business in the restroom and washed up, I will give myself to you immediately."
"That sounds good."
Sma nodded readily. Just as Akiko thought her temptation had worked and let her guard down—Sma multiplied into two.
"Is this how you do it?"
"Is this how you do it?"
"I'm a bit dizzy."
"I'm a bit dizzy."
Akiko was horrified.
"How...?"
Not just the clone, but the original body also bolted upright in shock. Sma didn't answer; he dispelled the clone and smashed through the door to enter the room.
Akiko tried to move her original body and the clone simultaneously to ambush Sma. However, his sword flashed with light, and the clone was annihilated.
In that brief moment, the punch thrown by her original body was caught by Sma.
"Slow."
"Hmph!"
She quickly spat fire, but Sma tilted his head back to dodge it. Akiko used that opening to perform a Substitution Technique and get away from him.
"How did you use a clone?"
She tried to resolve her doubt. How could a guard of the Hugo Kingdom use the Clone Technique? Had the Empire's secrets been leaked?
Sma had no intention of giving her a straight answer. He was consumed by a rage he hadn't even felt during the morning's ambush.
"I'm the Copy Ninja."
He tried to suppress his anger with a joke, but it didn't calm him down at all. He spat out his fury harshly.
"This is the price for infiltrating my mansion and targeting my women!"
The Aura gathered on his sword scattered. Akiko moved her body quickly to dodge. When she saw the deep sword gouge in the wall, her hair stood on end.
He wiped out an ambush team that included two Mid-Rank Ninjas by himself; he's an opponent I can't beat. I have to run.
She considered taking her roommate lying on the bed as a hostage but gave up. Sma seemed to be swinging his sword recklessly, but he was avoiding the bed with supernatural precision.
"And this is the price for trying to deceive me!"
The Aura blooming from the sword wove together like a net and lunged at Akiko. Akiko used every Ninjutsu she had learned. She used a wooden log for substitution to escape the net, and while creating a clone, she detonated a smoke bomb to obscure his vision.
Then, hiding her presence, she slipped out of the room. Her clone attacked Sma for a brief moment, but it was destroyed after failing to block even a few sword strikes.
Akiko ran until she had the taste of blood in her mouth. If she just ran down the road, she would be caught, so she leaped from wall to wall and crossed the roofs of other estates.
After fleeing for a long time, Akiko realized there was no presence following her. she leaned against a wall and caught her breath.
Did I lose him?
Even when she extended her Aura as far as possible, she couldn't detect any living being. She had lost him. As expected, she was a great talent. To escape the clutches of a High-Rank Aura User! And that too, while breaking through the security of a mansion that even had a Peak-Rank Aura User!
Should I go join my other colleagues? My face is a fake anyway, so even if they put up a sketch, I won't be caught.
She decided to take off her disguise mask to blend in as an ordinary citizen. She hooked her finger into a wound she didn't remember getting and peeled off the silicone mass.
Beneath it, a beauty that was hailed as legendary even among female ninjas was revealed. Just as she was about to raid a nearby house to change her clothes...
"And this is the price for trying to attack Iruna."
A shadow loomed over her. Multiple Smas were raining down streaks of Aura, attacking her.
The Clone Technique... and he even used Stealth?
That was her last thought. Akiko lost consciousness as the shock of her entire body being slashed overwhelmed her.
* * *
"Gah!"
Akiko regained consciousness. The wounds she had received before passing out seemed to have been completely treated, as she felt no pain.
Did someone rescue me?
That wasn't it. She felt the sensation of rope binding her from her shoulders, across her arms and chest, down to her pelvis and legs. Her arms and legs were even bent upward.
It was the sensation of being caught in a binding technique commonly known as the Tortoise Shell Binding.
I really did get caught.
What would happen to her now? Would she be tortured and eventually killed? She had been trained for such a situation, but the thought of actually dying brought tears to her eyes.
As she trembled, a voice spoke from right in front of her.
"You're awake."
Sma, holding a candle and a whip in his hands, was smiling at her.